Origins
by Elz Durden
Summary: In vain glory they arose, shouting their challenges to the gods. But prevail they did not. Their doom it was to walk the Mist until Time's end." Complete.
1. The Leading Man

Throughout the many twisting and whirling realms in the worlds, despite all their differences, they all shared two things in common.

Firstly, all the worlds flowed with a Life stream - some planets unaware of it's influences and others tied tightly in to every flow and ebb of the green river of existence.

The second common trait that linked the worlds, a trait that had saved them many times over from destruction, were the beings called Aeons. Supreme beings, gifts of the highest order, given only to those deemed worthy of keeping balance between the worlds. Those that carried Aeons, by whatever name given, were those that changed history, who acted as saviors of their planet's story.

Oh ok, fine.

There are _three_ things all the planets have in common, the last is, well, me.

I have been reborn as many times as there have been planets. For in this cosmic play of give and take, I am the pillar on which the scales sit. If one starts to tip, I act as the weight that pushes it gently (or not so gently as need be) back in to place. Often, the fates deem that I should play not but a passing role, born in a simple form that watches the great heroes of the time bring light to our ever darkening existence. Other times, I am the vessel in which they reach their goals, but never, ever before, have I been asked to act as I have been asked to now.

One of the "heroes" of this world has attracted the attention of a god. I feel like I might have played a part in this. After all, I'm not suppose to have a son. My genetics, my looped and ever returning soul, isn't suppose to be passed on to another. It might be that the gods have taken an interest in making another one like me, another "Cid". Constantly being reborn, constantly twisting the gods carefully laid path.

Or it might just be his cocky, self-assured manner that for some reason everyone seems to be attracted to.

My time in this world had already ended three years ago. Killed by my son and his friends. The very son I was now being brought back to carry the wills of the gods against.

Well, if nothing else, the cosmos have a sick kind of humor.

I took a shaky breath, teaching my lungs how to expand again. Death had always came so easy to me - I who am as old as the Worlds themselves was very familiar with all manners of death - but forcing new life in to an old body was not something I was accustomed to.

Usually when I die I am returned to the Lifestream to await the next time I am needed, given a new form that fits whatever my new role is to be. Reconstructing an old body was rather like pulling on wet jeans, caked in mud and smelly of raw earth. I hoped this wouldn't be something I needed to repeat. Pushing the small frames of my glasses against the ridge of my nose, I looked around the haul of the airship.

_So this is where you've hidden yourself away, Ffamran. Pity you could not hide from the sight of the Occuria._

The memories that came with this flesh made what I was about to do harder and easier. Harder because for the first time, my chosen had a familiar face. A face that I had once loved and while still a living man, ignorant to my true nature, I had invested such hope in him. _My son. You were to be the one to stand by me as we were finally free from the Occuria's influence. Free from always returning. Free to write our own path. But you-_

_This is all past now. There is nothing I can do to save you from the "interest" of the gods. You chose to stand out and shine, as I once chose to and now you will find the cost of ambition is high indeed. They will force you to find the strength hidden inside yourself...or they will destroy you._

I had never been inside _his_ ship. Of course I had seen many such ships. A passion for the skies was something that seemed to hold true in all my lives. Perhaps it was the freedom of flight. The illusion that I could travel forever in the endless blue and never have to stop to think. No one to answer to but my own sense of adventure. _It never did surprise me that my son, a son of my flesh and soul, would seek the skies to find freedom from me._

As I walked through the empty hallway, I felt a tiny swell of pride to see the adjustments that had been made to the fusion tanks and steam routes; small changes that no doubt had amazing results. The work was a little sloppy and rushed around the edges but efficient. _I would expect no less._

Up ahead, hidden behind the doors of the main deck, I heard a familiar rustling of footsteps. Sure and strong steps carried him around the deck of his ship with confidence. Here, my son was at home and untouchable. Hadn't he proven that time and again? It seemed Ffamran's stubborn sense of self worth wouldn't allow for the world to see a single rotation without him at the center.

_If only that was the true. Alas, no sense in prolonging the inevitable._

_-...-_

"Fran, do be a dear and fetch me the docking papers. I would so hate for our departure to be delayed, though I do suspect the good Marquis of Bhujerba will do little to extend our time in his _lovely_ city."

Frowning, Balthier quickly made a few adjustments to the controls in front of him.

"Ah." He muttered under his breath. "Damn coil, top Archadian craftsmanship my ass. Fran!" He called towards the hallways the lovely Viera had vanished down moments before. "Seems the compressor may need tending. I did think it was pulling a bit hard when we landed." Letting the thought trail, long delicate fingers flicked a rather thick looking switch upright. A sensor on the far left of the console flicked to life with a green blink, followed by a loud hiss of steam near the back engine.

"Ahh, bloody hell. Teach me to make deals on the run. Though I can hardly be blamed. I surely could have held out for better equipment at half the price had that damn city guard-" Noticing that the green blinking light began to flash rather demandingly, the young man felt a small smile tug at the corner of his lips. He'd never admit it out loud but he a part of him enjoyed when his ship gave him problems. Because, unlike so many less creative people, problems for Balthier meant solutions - solutions crafted and overseen by the intelligent gentleman. It wasn't an act of luck that the _Strahl _was a source of envy for even the most well traveled of sky goers. No, it was because of the countless hours he and Fran had poured in to every problem the vessel threw at them. Every original piece that hadn't been able to live up to the sky pirates exceptionally high standards was replaced by trail and error and old fashion hand crafted skill.

_If the Archadian coil isn't up to mid-point landings, I do believe a Rozarrian model with a semi- damn, where is that woman?_

"Fran!" He called again, spinning up from his chair. As his sharp features turned towards the hall, he inhaled sharply, the words dying unspoken on his lips. Dark brown eyes widened in shock and for a moment, he lost his gentlemanly composure. Whatever he was about to say was lost to the sight that stood before him. _An image from the darkest pits of hell, no doubt_, he thought darkly as he took a faltering step back, inching his eager fingers to the gun hanging from his hip.

"Been a long time, old man." The youth snickered with a half smile and cold, unemotional eyes. "I should have known the grave wouldn't hold the likes of you." The normal confidence in his voice was missing. Empty, his words rang hollow and chipped. With an ease that left him wounded, Balthier recalled the final battle with his - with the man before him. Clearly, he remembered approaching his fading figure, wisps of Mist eagerly pulling the dying man in to the next life. _"...was there no other way?"_

As if reading his thoughts, an unreadable expression crossed the old man's face, causing his glasses to slip down the ridge of his nose, a mixed look of sadness and…something else.

"Come to have another go at it, have you? What is it this time? More rubbish about Nethicite or have you found yourself a new obsession from your time in the Mists?" Balthier questioned. He cocked his head and nodded towards the short sword his father held loosely in hand.

"I'd much rather save you the trouble of drawn out ordeal. Neither of us need suffer _that_ insanity again." In a flash, his gun was drawn and pointed… towards empty air. A look of shock spread across his face but before he could recover, he heard the sound of something rustle behind him. There was a sickening pressure against his back, impossibly cold, the pressure forced itself through his jacket and in to his skin. A familiar and strong hand gripped him from behind, holding his shoulder tightly as the blade slipped in deeper, grating through his body.

Horror, pain and disbelief played out on his youthful face in a flash, all too quickly fading to a kind of accepting smile. The ground rose to meet his trembling hands as his father, almost gently, pulled the blade free and Balthier fell forward to his knees. A familiar pair of boots filled his vision as he struggled to breath around the heat filling his lungs.

"Damn…You-you're quicker than you look, old man." Coughing, the sky pirate's vision swam with colors that even his wit lacked words for. This did not bode well.

For a long time, there was nothing but the sound of his heart, raging in his ears and the all too real feeling of thick heat rushing down his arms and pooling around his fingers. Each breath came harder than the last, each trembling movement of his lip betrayed tears that burned his eyes. _Fran...where...?_

"Gone for the time being, I'm afraid. Not that she could have helped you anyway."

"Damn..it, old...man. Your voice...is not the last...thing I want to...hear."

"No I suppose it isn't." Cid knelled before his son, using a gloved hand to force his face up towards his own. "Fool of a pirate. I have an important question to ask you and given your current state, I'd be quick with the answer. And," he added quickly, "now is neither the place nor time for your sarcasm. Do you know what Esper's are? Or more importantly, where they come from?"

Balthier gave a raw, guttural laugh. "Go away..staring at your face..much...worse than your ...voice.." Balthier's arms collapsed under him, no longer able to support his weakened frame. The floor, covered as it was with his own blood, quickly soaked through the front of his shirt as he lay there. With a weak but bemused expression, his eyes rested on his wrist of his pale right arm_._ There was a streak of rust colored blood smeared against the otherwise perfectly pressed and white cuff of his shirt sleeve. _Isn't that just the way of it?_

_-...-_

Cid watched as his son's face slipped free of his grasp. It seemed that nothing he could say to the boy, even under life and death circumstances, could strangle from him more than a passing note of seriousness. For a moment, he was half tempted to leave the boy lying in his own blood, just to see if maybe dying wouldn't amend some of his more egotistical traits. However, that wasn't in the plan.

-...-

With a tenderness that seemed wrong coming from the man who had just stabbed him in the back, Cid gathered his son up in his arms. Easily he carried his son down the hallway, his steady steps echoing off it's metal frame.

"You're going to hate me for this next part." Cid commented, his eyes fixed at the expanse of sky visible on the deck in front of him. He was answered with a soft chuckle and a whisper so soft, he almost lost the words to the wind.

"oh.. I hate..you for.. much more than..that.."

"Be that as it may, it's almost over now." He stated as he gently laid his son's body down on the exposed deck. Overhead, light gray clouds covered the afternoon sun and the scent of rain carried the promise of a light summer storm before nightfall. The calm weather and the peaceful ocean drifting beneath the docked ship seemed wrong.

_Of course, it could be because I'm viewing the scene from a pool of my own blood._ Balthier thought as his eyes fixed on a slow moving rain cloud. _I suppose in all of this, my last regret should really be that I'm dying at all but..._

Unbidden, a stream of memories ebbed at his mind's edge, soaking up in to his fading vision. Clearer than the sky before him, he could see the faces of his companions, the only real friends he had ever known. People that liked, actually _liked_ and admired him, not because he was the Imperial Judge Ffamran or his father's son, but simply because he was Balthier. It had seemed an impossible thing, people able to see past the titles and the history. Even after he had assumed another name and put as much distance between himself and his dominating father as possible, there seemed to be no escaping the fact that, for all his own merits, for all his own thoughts and desires, he would always be haunted by his past.

"Ffamran."

_..hate that name.._

A warm hand rested lightly against his cold cheek. Cold despite the sun and the touch felt numb, so numb.

"Fine," the voice conceded, "be stubborn, _Balthier._ Try not to fight it."

_Fight what? Death? I do believe you tipped the odds against me with your sword.._

There was an audible sigh. "No, stubborn fool. The memories. It's important for the change. Your true nature, the sum of your life, is found in the thralls of death."

_..ridiculous.._

"Believe what you will. That was always your problem. You completely refuse to see a bigger picture - a destiny you couldn't forge entirely on your own one - as a possible controlling factor for you life. No, not _Balthier_. If you couldn't measure it, fix it, weight it, improve it, _it_ didn't exist." Cid scoffed. "For one so young, to be so cold and so limited in your passions, to never give in to emotions-"

_With you as a shining example of what giving in to one's passions could do, how could I possibly have done other than I have?_

"-you're incapable of basic human closeness-"

_Not true! It...was always there.._

"Even now, as you lie dying, your heart is so tightly closed, you can hardly see past your own limitations."

_I was always the first to acknowledge my limits, not out loud, but I _never _forgot them_

"No, you didn't. And that son, was the biggest fault of them all. You can't see yourself for anything more than a cold, calculating pirate. Taking what _you think_ you want and searching for a superficial freedom you can't ever gain because the one you're trying to escape is yourself." The hand moved away from his face. There was the sound of movement from beside him and he could hear the sound of steps retreating in to the distance.

Inhaling weakly, Balthier turned his head, tears slipping from the corners of his eyes.

_Don't...leave._

The figure stopped and without turning, "Too little too late, my son. Espers, to answer my earlier question for you...are those souls that the gods deemed beautiful, for one reason or the other. Souls favored most. Like cherished children. But as with all parents, the gods place the highest hopes on the children they love the most. And my son, my foolish leading man, you are very loved."

Pausing, the man reached in to one of his many pockets, pulling something unseen from its folds. "A word of advice. Overcome your shortcomings, show them that their interest is deserved, show them there is more to you than your unfeeling facade; or you'll never be human again." With that, he tossed the small object over his shoulder. It landed, bounced once and came to a rest a few inches from Balthier's tear streaked face.

Through his fading vision, Balthier couldn't make out what the device before him was. There was the faint impression it was some type of crystal but between the tears and the continued blood loss it was impossible to focus his eyes. The rattling heartbeat in his ears distracted Balthier from the problem of his vision. Little doubt remained that he was being left here to die. The best he could hope for was that the old bastard hadn't thrown a explosive device at him. _At least if the ship...is intact...someone else...Vann...Fran ...could..remember...Penelo_

The thought wouldn't allow itself to play out. There had been too much truth to what Cid had said. Even in death, even with nothing left to lose, the proud man couldn't admit to the feelings he had locked away so deeply he wouldn't have known them for his own.

_...forgive me..._

The object before him caught the bright light as the sun pushed it's way free of the clouds. The dull gleam quickly grew to a blinding flash that washed over the prone form of the man, sweeping a tangible, breathable light in to his very being.

For a moment, he darkly thought, _Bloody bastard is blowing up my ship._ But the thought was quickly erased as a warmth folded over him, pressing against him until he felt himself growing smaller and fading away in to it.

When the light died away, nothing remained on deck. Not even the faintest trace of blood to hint that something life altering had taken place.

-...-

"Oi, Vaan, you better get up here." The young girl knelled down, staring at the object with intense blue-gray eyes. Behind her, the blond haired man walked out on desk with a look of interest. "What is it?"

A deep crease wrinkled between her eyes as she looked the object over, gently picking it up in her palm. "Its... it's an esper summon!" Blinking, she turned to Vaan and handed him the crystal-made license. "From what I can tell, it's a pretty weak one but it's definitely a summons!"

With youthful curiosity, Vaan turned the crystal over in his hand, inspecting the runes that would invoke the being within to be released. It was an almost pure white, with light shades of blue caressing the outer rims.

"Yea, it's a summon alright." He said after a moment of thought. "But what's it doing out here?" Vaan looked around, scanning the empty deck for clues. Everything seemed in order. "Huh." The crystal felt warm in his palm. It didn't emit the strong, demanding heat that Belias had, his old summons that he had given up about a year ago at Ashe's urgings. Rather, this energy felt calm and comforting and ...oddly familiar.

"Ah well." The young captain concluded. "Let's get back to wrapping things up here. We're due in Dalmasca by the end of the week."

Penelo rolled her eyes, regaining her feet as she tossed her captain a rueful smile. "Like you need to tell me! I'm the one always reminding you! We'd be halfway around Ivalice right now if I hadn't reminded you this morning!"

The young captain gave her a sheepish grin. "That's why you're my navigator! A busy man like myself can't remember all the small details!"

The pair laughed and made their way back in to the ship. Vaan carefully tucked the crystal in to his front pocket. He intended to explore this new summon as soon as he was alone, away from even Penelo.

Penelo was busy with private thoughts of her own. The runes on it left an unsettling feeling in deep inside. Troubled, but unwilling to say anything about what the crystal had etched on it_. _Vaan had never learned to read the ancient, magic calling language but she had and she knew exactly what it said.

_Ffamran the Empty_


	2. Act two

Disclaimer: This might come as a shock to you all, but I don't own FFXII or it's colorful characters. Words are mine, world is theirs. Fun times.

Author's note: This is meant to be a stand alone fic, taking place after FFXII and heeding to it's own timeline/storyline there on out.

I'd like to give special thanks to thermopylae and Keyblade Mistress Hikari, (say that 10x fast). Without the help, thoughtful suggestion and time they gave to this old writer, I never would have made it through.

Thanks again.

If you enjoy the story, leave a comment. If you didn't enjoy the story, still leave a comment but know that I cry myself to sleep at night. Not really. 3

~...~

Night time.

From above, the city looked like a compass of lights. On the night wind, he could occasionally catch the scents from the Eastern merchant district. It was the smell of something spicy and comforting but nameless. The smell of a desert home.

Thoughtfully, Vaan turned a curious look at the crystal lying in his palm. Small, much smaller than any of the other Esper crystal's he had seen, it fit snuggly in his hand with room to spare.

The last time he had seen an Esper crystal, it had been the one the young sky pirate had handed over to the royal magus.

Two years ago, shortly after becoming Queen, Ashe or rather - her majesty Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca - had politely asked her former traveling companions to turn over their summoning licenses.

Her request had taken a deal of time to carry out. If gaining control of a license was hard, replacing one in to a crystal was down right tedious. Once a summoner had total control over an Esper, it was a matter of concentration, will, a moogle's gift for crafting magicite and a great deal of luck. Like forcing the night sky entire in to the lens of a telescope. It had taken Vaan hours, dripping with sweat and blood to force his own Esper in to the cryst.

Even after it had finally been severed from him and had been sealed away there was the feeling that he could only describe as what it must feel like to lose a limb. Time had done a lot to fill that void but still...

_I'd rather fight fifty Esper's than go through sealing one up again._

In the end, no one had objected to Ashe's request. They had all gotten along fine before hand without the powerful Espers and with the war over, not even stubborn Balthier could find fault with her reasoning.

_"Hmph." Balthier shrugged, handing over his black edged crystal with an indifferent smile. "If it stops that pretty head from worrying, I'll gladly entrust Chaos to the tender care of her Highness."_

_The hooded figure, a Dalmascan lore keeper, eagerly took the crystal in hand. He made no effort to hide the unrestrained curiosity that raced across his weathered face. "The Kingdom grant you favor!' His voice dropped, speaking to the archiver standing beside him. "Chaos, at long last, the Wheel Walker-"_

_Balthier interrupted, "Of course, it was rather a pain acquiring that particular summons." His cheerful and easy going tone was betrayed by the weighted stare he fixed on the lore keeper. The old man's smile quickly faded._

_"Even hard won things can be so readily...taken. Ah well, all in the line of duty, eh?" He finished as he turned his back on the royal messengers. The famed sky pirate casting Vaan a wink before heading back to the docked Strahl, Fran following close behind him._

The way he had said it made Vaan question if Balthier didn't have plans to take back the Esper someday, should he find himself bored and unable to find a more exciting way to get in to trouble. Vaan smiled ruefully.

_Had it really been two years?_

The young man could still feel the spot where the magic of Belias's license had been burned in to the folds of his mind.

Learning a license for ordinary spells usually wasn't very hard if one was skilled in magic. Reading the complex runes etched in to its surface would cause a license to glow to life and imprint that particular spell in to the learner's memory. Depending on the natural talent of the learner to call on the Mist, the stronger the spell when cast.

With the Esper's, it had been totally different.

_Like a King, the creature stood at the ready in the space between the towering arches. Three times the height of a normal man, the muscled guardian towered above the group. The entrance to the throne room to its mighty back, Vaan and his friend's approached its front, weapons drawn. It was clear they'd get no further in to the Dynast King's tomb unless it was through the bestial man that now blocked their path._

_A circle of arcane fire lit around the beast's massive hoofs as it took a trembling step towards the party. Twin arms rose before it, staff clenched in the smaller left arm while the other's reached out, inviting the adventure's to their deaths._

_In the end, it had been the creature that had fallen. Weakened and wounded it's physical form faded away, leaving behind a license unlike any the party had seen before. Moving like one in a dream, Vaan reached down and picked up the crystal, cool for all it's amazing and vividly red colors. The second his slender fingers stroked the outside, a voice echoed sadly in his mind._

_-I am Belias, the Gigas. A mistake of the gods, I was deemed useless. Alone did the Dynast King view me as useful and yet, I could not protect my master in life, as I now cannot protect his tomb in death. You have shown yourself my equal. I bend to your will.-_

_And with that, the license cracked, it's bright shards embedding in to his flesh and vanishing. Startled, Vaan found that he could -feel- the creature, it's weight like a silent and powerful flame of failure that licked inside of him._

_Behind him Fran's melodious voice broke the silence, speaking as if in verse. "In vain glory they arose, shouting their challenges to the gods. But prevail they did not. Their doom it was to walk the Mist until Time's end."_

_"I know of these..." Commented the young queen as she moved to where Vaan was kneeling._

That's how it had all started.

As their travels led the group in to the forgotten ruins of their world, time and again they were confronted by the Esper's and without fail, each one had seemed, somehow _wrong_, despite their willingness to help the group once defeated.

Vaan couldn't help but question the minds of the gods who could create such beings. The Espers were filled with overpowering sadness, or corruption or warped with all consuming needs to create or destroy elements of the world, everything they were bent on that single goal.

Yes, no one had objected when they turned over their Espers. Vaan wondered if the emotions that lingered in the aftermath of each of their Espers haunted their dreams, as they did his own.

On some sleepless nights, when his active mind refused sleep, his thoughts would return to the events of two years ago. Part of him often wondered, in hindsight, if it wasn't the overwhelming sense of failure Belias always pulsed in to him that had made Vaan struggle so hard to show the other's that he was valuable...

_Actually, now that I think about it, I wonder if that's how Balthier survived the explosion in the end. Wasn't Chaos the Esper forced to return over and over again?_

"Ugh, too much thinking." The youth made a look of disgust, noting how far the stars had risen in the sky. "Since when am I the reflective type? Man, Penelo would never let me live it down if she knew I was thinking so much about this old rock." He smiled brightly, grasping the crystal tightly in his hands.

"It would be a waste, though." With purpose he rose the crystal to eye level, carefully tracing each etched rune with an outstretched finger. Curiosity filled his mind with a single sort of desire. "First thing Penelo is going to do when we land is tell Ashe we found you and make me turn you over. Seems kinda unfair-"

Soft soul shoes rushed up to him, a flash of a delicate hand filled his vision, smacking the crystal free from his grasp and sending it skittering to the side of the ship.

"Vaan! What are you thinking?" Deep blue grey eyes locked with his, searching his face with concern. "You can't possibly be trying to wake it up! You don't even know what's in there! It could destroy the ship and us along with it! We've already lost so much, why..." The first hints of anger threaded in to her otherwise soft voice. "Why don't you ever think!"

When the young man couldn't meet her demanding glance, Penelo's anger gave way to guilt.

_It's always this way._ She thought. _He makes me feel so helpless._ "I'm sorry Vaan. But really! You need to think about things before you just do them! Things aren't always going to work out just because you _want_ them to! You're not Bal-" Quickly she caught herself. "You're the captain and without you, what good is your first mate?" She ended lightly with a smile.

"I know, you're right." An aspirated sigh escaped Vaan's lips. "You did say it was a weak one though." He pointed out in a half hearted defense.

"Yeah and even a weak one could probably make scrap metal out of our ship." There was an uncomfortable silence as Penelo struggled to bring her emotions under control.

"Come on," She said finally. "We need to pull the port round if we're going to dock it." She didn't miss the wistful look he cast at the crystal, lying to its side and half hidden in a shadow. Despite her previous anger, she laughed. "I swear, you're the kid brother I never had! Half the time, I don't know if I should smack you or hug you."

Vaan rolled his eyes, "I'll be inside." He paused, looking back at her. "You'll give it to Ashe, right?"

Without hesitation, the young girl flashed him her best, bratty smile, crossing her arms behind her back. "You bet! The second we touch down."

"I knew it." He muttered under his breath.

Penelo watched to make sure he had completely vanished inside before shaking her head. "That boy is going to be the death of me yet." With absent minded fingers, she traced the intricate patterns of the tattoo on her left arm before returning her attention to the crystal. "Well. The sooner this thing is out of his reach, the better. Vaan's not known for his will power."

Not knowing that Esper's wake up, not from force as Vaan thought, but rather as a reaction to the correct person, Penelo grasped the crystal.

Hairline fractures erupted across the crystal face where her fingertips caressed it. Too late did the young woman noticed the light pulsing from within.

...

_Well, death is dark, I'll say that much for it. Quite the let down, really._

After having walked the expansion-less void for an untold amount of time, the man folded his arms and took in a deep breath of the stale air. His body felt like it did in the thralls of a Quickening. Everything too tight and fluid all at the same time. Muscles coiled with expectation, ready for...for what?

_Hmph. This is aggravating and troublesome and entirely unacceptable. I can only assume this is my father's doing. Probably locked away in some dark corner of the abyss._

"For starters," Balthier pointed out aloud to no one, "dead men don't _breathe_. And I am certainly doing enough of that. This place reeks of Mist." Sighing, he closed his eyes in wistful thought. _Fran, where are you when I need you? I swear, if that old bastard has laid a single, twisted hand on you, I'll-_

His thoughts ended abruptly his footing gave out. The ground rose up to meet him with a sudden lunge of earth, as if it had turned in to rolling liquid. Before he could think or react, it crested over him, covering his form with its blackness.


	3. Act Three

Author's Note: Hey guys. I give you Act Four. Thanks to my beta readers. 3 You know how much I simply adore the time and energy you spend making these Acts oh so much better.

Thanks to everyone that's reviewed. It keeps me going strong.

Oh and those that fear long works because they tend to die off due to RL/lack of writer interest and the like, you'll be happy to know this piece has been written out in full. I wrote it in the span of about a week. All I do is spend a lot of time going over the rough drafts of the Acts and flesh them out. So never fear, it is complete and I'll see this story through to the end.

Enjoy.

...

The crystal shattered in Penelo's hand like an orb of fragile spun sugar. The shards of it sliced against the tender pads of her fingertips, drawing thin lines of crimson. Liquid light spilled out from the fractured crystal igniting her split blood with a fever like heat. Before she could draw her hand back, the mixture of shimmering luminescence and pain faded.

Blinking away the white streaks that had scorched against her vision, Penelo felt her heart drop. Her hand was empty. The crystal had vanished.

_Did I just do what I was yelling at Vaan for trying?_

With an ease that spoke of a physical prowess well beyond her years, Penelo steadied her breath and inched her hand to the dagger strapped at her side. In the same easy grace,she slowly rose to her feet, ignoring the sharp pain as her injured fingers gripped the leather hilt of her blade and pulled it free.

She knew the dagger wouldn't do her much good against an Esper, no matter how weak the ethereal creature might prove to be. The weapon would be a distraction to buy her the time needed to call forth deadly spells. What she lacked in physical strength, Penelo made up for in magic a hundred fold.

A Protect spell riding the tip of her tongue, the young woman looked around with caution.

_Somethings not right…Its too quite._

All the times before when she had encountered the unlicensed, or to put it mildly, the wild Esper's on their travels, there was no silence after they were disturbed.

The ground had shook with fury, the skies had kicked up terrible storms and the Mist had been so strong she had felt sick with it. The Esper's seemed to know that to be caught was to be bound to their captor and they voiced their resentment of the idea _very_ physically.

The hush that surrounded her now was something else completely.

Above, the night sky was the picture of peace. So clear and cloudless, the stars looked like touchable diamonds to be caught between eager fingers. Beneath her feet, the ship sailed as a dream on the calm, cool, desert night winds and though she sensed _something_ , this peace was not the challenging presence of an Esper.

This was softer; if the power of the Esper's release had been a raging scream, this was a wistful sigh.

The minutes passed.

Gradually, her dagger relaxed at her side. Penelo felt a little silly, standing guard as she was against such a serene night on her own ship.

_Maybe I was wrong. _Thinking back on the weak energy she felt coming from the crystal, it was possible it hadn't been an Esper at all. It might have been a kind of magicite or maybe if it was an Esper..._maybe it didn't have enough energy to take a physical form?_

Despite th peace and what she knew to be sound logic, Penelo couldn't shake the uneasy feeling from between her shoulders. When it came to matters of the Mist, she was especially sensitive, more than most Humes. At first, that awareness had scared and overwhelmed her. Fran, as if sensing this, was always very kind to her, always there to explain with gentle tones and understanding eyes. They shared a kind of kindred spirit, she supposed.

..

_The tomb was dark and looming. So high was the ceiling that it was lost in to the dark shadows that the magical torchlight could not reach. Down in to the deepest reaches of the tomb the party ventured, each step drawing them closer in to the confiding unknown._

_Excited yet all too aware how far away was the familiar warmth of the desert surface, the young girl's body seemed to ache from an unnatural cold. As the party passed along the one of the many bridges, Penelo alone stopped, looking in astonishment at the sight before her. Dancing like oil on water, light and beautiful. She had no words for it._

_Fran, noticing the tarrying girl, stopped._

"_Fog? Underground?" The young girl asked, trying to force more energy in to her voice than she felt._

"_Not fog-Mist." The Viera moved towards her as Penelo turned to meet the eyes of the speaker. She hadn't expected anyone to answer her question, much less the ever aloof Viera._

"_You can see the Mist? With your eyes?"_

_Fran observed Penelo, an unreadable expression on her flawless face. "Where it is thick enough, you may. The nether runs deep in this place."_

_Feeling the cold acutely, the young girl licked her lips, looking at the Viera with questioning eyes. "So…is the Mist dangerous?"_

"_Yes. But it is also an aide. Through Mist, powerful magicks can be worked."_

"_I-I'll keep that in mind." Penelo answered with a forced smile. "Can't count on Vaan to keep track of those kind of things. That's for sure…"_

_.._

Penelo shook her head, casting the memory in to the back of her mind. That had been a life time ago. She was stronger now - no longer afraid of the unseen forces at work in the world. It was as Fran said, the Mist was dangerous and powerful and consumed the unwary but with training, Penelo had proved an apt student in the mastery of licenses. Few would find her an easy target any longer.

With one last methodical look around the deck, Penelo slid her dagger back in to its holder.

The young woman turned to go inside, sticking one of her abused fingers thoughtfully in to her mouth.

_I'll cast a Cure spell on my hand later first, I better go inside and check on Vaan._

_~.~_

He was either upside down or about to throw up.

Motion sickness was completely alien to the sky pirate and it was mentally added to the _extremely_ long list of things that had gone horribly wrong in the last twenty-four hours. Saying that he felt terrible would be an unforgivable understatement. His body felt like shredded paper, left precariously close to an open window. Any second he expected to be torn apart.

Balthier couldn't find the motivation to rise up. It took an unbelievable amount of will power and stubbornness to open his eyes.

Through the blackness that swam across his vision gradually small, twinkling lights came in to focus.

_Stars_.

Stars were a good sign, a _very_ good sign. Stars meant Balthier wasn't in that terrible black void anymore and even his sickness gave further testament to him still being counted among the living. Though not overly thrilled with the pounding in his head, he'd take the small victories he could get right now.

_It's great to be alive, _he thought sarcastically as he struggled to regain his footing, fighting off wave after wave of crippling weakness.

_I was either at the receiving end of a slew of Green magic spells or I'm drunk. I do hope it's the former; I'd hate to do something I might not remember tomorrow. _The small joke couldn't encourage more than the slightest upturning of his pale lips and the overall _wrongness_ of the situation started to sink in. He hadn't hurt this bad when Cid had used his back as a sheath.

Every breath a small triumph, Balthier stumbled to his feet, hunched over as if about to be ill. In the swirling, shifting and fading world that made up his vision, a single solid shape moved in front of him. Disoriented as he was, it took him a moment to place the familiar corn-silk blond hair, the slender but well built back and clothing he found a touch on the conservative side for someone with a body worthy of attention.

"…Penelo…" Balthier winced at the dry rasp he could only assume was his voice. Swallowing hard, he said her name again, managing to raise it just above a whisper. She didn't hesitate in her steps towards the ship's cabin. A sense of tangible dread filled his being. He was a swimmer struggling to keep his head above water and he _knew_ that if he didn't catch her attention, he'd drowned.

Though they were only a foot or so apart, it felt like miles.

"Stop…moving would…you…" In what Balthier felt to be in an extremely undignified manner, he half reached, half fell towards her, grasping at her left hand as she moved it back in mid-stride.

In shock he watched as his slender tanned fingers moved against and _through_ her pale hand, strands of iridescent light streaming away from him and vanishing in to her. Blinking, the pirate's face crossed quickly from a mixture of disbelief to a dull sort of horror.

Though his hand had touched immaterial through her, it had made a different kind of contact. Something in him clicked in to place, as if everything inside of him had been waiting for him to reach out and touch _her_.

He stumbled back, but it was too late. All around him, dazzling light filled his vision. It was more than light coming off of him - he was becoming the _light._

Penelo stopped, her troubled brow furling in to wrinkles. In a knee-jerk reaction, she turned to her left, sensing the sudden appearance of another.

The figure was as a shadow, a ghostly transparent body formed of little more than wisps of Mist and light wrapped loosely together in a very familiar shape.

"Balthier?" She gasped. "Is that you? What has happened!"

The man's fading face gave her his usual head tilt, a small smile accompanied with an eyebrow raise that could have meant anything. He looked as if he was about to say something when a look of pain passed over his face, causing the man to double over.

Unsure of what to do or how to help, Penelo reached out, lightly touching his shoulder. "Balthier?" She said again, her tone imploring.

The touch of her hand caused Balthier to look up at her. The pain his face held seconds ago was washed away with a look of calm - as if he had drawn in a much needed breath. His lips moved, but she couldn't hear what he was saying. Not understanding why this was happening, Penelo was overcome by panic. _He looks like someone that's about to fade in to the Mist!_

"Balthier, please hold on! I'll get help!" His eyes widened and he shook his head, motioning for her not to leave him. His form was fading faster, hardly more than an outline remained.

"You can't go! I…I won't allow it!" The young girl said with a sudden fierceness. Feeling as if compelled by unseen force, she knelled down and threw her arms around him, holding him tight. Through her clothing, she felt him solidify under her touch – a warm and very real body pressed against hers. Her heartbeat was racing, a sharp contrast to the steady even beat she could feel thumping in his chest.

As the woman held her friend tightly to her, she felt something impossibly cold descend in to the part of her soul that controlled Mist and called the Quickening. The coldness reminded her of horizon-less skies and depth less oceans, the feeling of an endlessness void of life. Ice moved through her, down in to the very core of her being, finally settling in to the part of Penelo that had been empty since she was forced to give up her Esper Shemhazzi to Ashe.

And then she knew, the way people in dreams know things - an indisputable knowledge, that the feeling had come from Balthier. No rather, that the feeling _was_ Balthier.

Shivering as much from the revelation as from the residual chill left by the junction, she unknowingly moved in closer to the embrace, holding him tighter for warmth and comfort, as if she had been the one about to fade. His vest pressed against her cheek and all around her was the smell of the sky pirate.

_He is the smell before rain._

"While I personally have nothing against it," A gentle but firm hand pressed against her shoulder, pushing her away from the contact and drawing her from her thoughts, "think of what Vaan would say." The pirate gave her a tiny half smile, that didn't quite manage to reach his eyes.

Penelo drew back, resting on her heels, her eyes never leaving the face before her. The confusion of emotions she felt at the moment didn't allow for the embarrassment she knew she should have felt for hugging him.

The man kneeling so solemn before her looked just as she remembered him, light brown short hair pushed back from a face that was all angles, a dark tan that showcased his fierce blue eyes and drew attention to the many silver piercings that lined his outer ears. He looked solid enough and very much of this world.

However, like a feeling of dread, the icy weight of the new connection in the back of her mind wouldn't allow room for doubt. Everything in her that knew of the Mist and every fiber of her body that could call magick knew what had just happened. Though as different as night and day from the last time she had done so, there was no denying what she knew in her heart to be true:

She had just licensed an Esper.

_But how? Balthier, you can't be an Esper, can you?_

"Hmph." Balthier sighed, turning away from her and answering her unspoken thoughts that had been as clear to him as if she had given them voice, "That's what I'd like to know. Wait," He turned to her abruptly, Cid's last statement surfacing, "What makes you say I'm an Esper?"

Before either could comment further, the intercom over head clicked to life with a pop of static.

"-Hey Penelo! We're about to pull in to the aerodrome! I'm gonna go down in to the docking area once we land and register our ship with the dock master! You stay here and um, make sure that the landing sequence finishes up, all right? I'll meet you at Migelo's!-." There was a brief crackle of noise as intercom mic was rested back in to its holder and then silence.

Penelo rolled her eyes, temporarily forgetting her current situation. "Register our ship' my foot!" She muttered under her breath. "He just wants to get on the ground before me so he can brag about being a famous sky pirate without me around to correct him!"

Another sharp click filled the air around them, Vaan, out of breath from rushing back to the intercom, added quickly. "Oh and hey, don't forget the crystal! Maybe Ashe will let us see what's in it when we turn it over! Ok, see you down there!"

"Crystal?" Balthier asked with a raised brow. "What crystal?"


	4. Act Four

Notes and Such – I am currently editing all my chapters in hopes of catching any grammar/minor plot holes I might have allowed to slip through. This chapter has now been edited and is ready for your reading pleasure.

Act four –

The ship gave a gentle sway, moving with effortless grace in to the docking area.

Overhead, the starry sky slid away under the massive metallic ceiling of the aerodrome. Below on the deck, the pair of sky goers sat facing each other. For a few terse moments neither spoke. It was Balthier who broke the silence first.

"What crystal?" He asked again. The words were simple enough – the emotions behind them were not and even with Balthier's cool control, he couldn't keep a sharp edge from filling his voice. It was less a question and more of a demand.

Penelo looked away, unable to meet his challenging stare. "Vaan and I were just about to bring the ship around to port, it was about sunset." She started, slowly.

"Then, out of the sky there was a streak of light, like a shooting star. It shot down past the cabin window. Whatever it was, it looked like it might hit the deck so Vaan and I went out and I found this crystal." Penelo took a deep breath, her own mind still frantically trying to piece the events together. "I could tell it was an Esper license but something about it seemed _wrong_. And then when I touched it, there was this blinding light and you appeared-."

"I've heard enough." Interrupted Balthier, his voice was not pleased. He got to his feet, dusting off his spotless clothing. "Shouldn't you be getting this ship ready to port?"

That was the last thing Penelo had expected to hear and it took her a minute to register the quick topic change and equally quick dismissal. It was true, as the navigator, she should have been up in the control room making sure the engines shut off and cooled correctly but –

"Balthier, I think maybe we should talk about what's happened! The docking can wait-."

"And while you're at it," the man continued as if he hadn't heard her, "I'll need you to patch me through to the Strahl. I must speak with Fran and see about getting my ship here with all due haste. Nothing past that is of great consequence right now." He brushed past her towards the cabin, stopping only long enough to call over his shoulder. "Better get a move on."

A few minutes later, Balthier stood behind the confused navigator as she punched in the call code he had told her. The engines were still running, causing the noise from the ship's engine to reverberate off the metal docking bay. Over the noise, Penelo voiced her objections for a second time. "Balthier, I think, maybe, you should listen to what happened with the Esper crystal-."

"Enough with this 'Esper' nonsense! What you saw was the trickery of an old man with far too much time on his hands and not enough sense to stay dead. Nothing more."

Biting her lower lip and letting the rest of her objections die unsaid, Penelo finished linking to the Strahl. The video screen before them blinked blue as they waited for the other end to pick up the call. They didn't have to wait long. A heartbeat later, a familiar face jumped to life on the screen.

Penelo blinked at the image before her.

A few white wisps' of hair had managed to free themselves from the tight ponytail, framing an angular face in a soft cascade. Her usually flawless skin showed a slight darkening under large scarlet eyes. There was a tightness around her lips that Penelo had never seen before and finally it dawned on Penelo what was wrong with the picture. Fran looked _tired_. Never, in all their travels, had the Viera ever shown signs of fatigue.

"Yes?" Came the melodious greeting. The loss of sleep had apparently not affected her voice, which rang clear but impatient.

"Fran," Balthier said, coming to stand next to Penelo so as better to command Fran's full attention. The irritation that had been so evident in his voice had been replaced with a commanding authority, "It's good to see that the Strahl is undamaged. What is your curren-."

The Viera spoke over her captain, "If you've a mind to, speak Penelo. I have many errands and not time enough for silent stares."

"M-me?" Penelo blanched, shooting an uneasy glance at the man fuming beside her.

Balthier shot her an annoyed glance. "Fran," he tried again, moving closer to the screen. "Can you hear me?"

"Are you all right?" Fran asked with honest concern, taking Penelo's strange behavior to be a sign of trouble.

"Fran!" Balthier demanded but nothing he said seemed able to draw his partner's eyes to acknowledge him.

Unsure of what to do, Penelo answered Fran, her confusion evident in her rushed tones, "Balthier…"

The Viera's tired gaze flashed with immediate curiosity. "What news have you?"

"News?" Penelo's brow furled in bewilderment. Turning to the man next to her, she implored, "About what? Can't you-."

The young man motioned for her silence, watching the screen with a single minded focus.

"Hold a moment." Balthier ordered to Penelo, wanting to see what Fran was about to say.

"He is missing." Fran continued, "Lost in Burjeba when I went to gather much needed supplies for the Strahl." Fran watched Penelo as she spoke, gaging the effect of her words. "When I returned to the ship, it reeked of the Mist and magic's best left forgotten. Looked long I have to no avail for the missing captain. Strange then, that you mention him now."

Before Penelo could answer Fran's suspicion, Balthier moved to try and shut off the screen. He wasn't too surprised when he found he could feel the switch but was unable to affect it. All of his efforts to flip it off simply resulted in his extended fingers passing briefly against and then _through_ the metal extension.

"Damn it." He muttered under his breath. A few things were starting to click in to place with startlingly clarity. One thing was certain, there were too many unanswered questions. It left him feeling off center and out of control of events. That wasn't something he would tolerate.

_All right, think clearly now, no time for panic. I need to get this straighten out before carelessly dragging others in to this stratagem of my father's. Time to think and answers are what I need; more bewildered company,_ he stole a glance at Penelo, _I can do without._

Without looking back at Fran's careworn face, he signaled to the screen with a careless wave of his hand.

"Shut it off."

_You'll have to forgive me Fran. Had you still been on the ship, I shudder to think what my father might have done to you to get to me. I can't abide the thought of you coming to harm. I need time. _

…_And a bit of breathing space wouldn't hurt._

Seeing Penelo hesitate, Balthier sighed. "Say nothing more to her Penelo. Shut it off." He ordered again.

"I'm sorry Fran!" Penelo blurted off before switching the screen to a blank blue. The dazed young woman spun her chair to face Balthier. "Why? Fran can help! She knows more about the Mist than I do and you heard her! She's worried about you!"

"Fran's a big girl; she can take care of herself. It will be _true_ madness when that stops being the case. Hmm." Pensively, the pirate gazed out the window to the confining docking bay. "I believe a change in venue is in order. Turn the ship back to the skies, we leave at once." His voice was unyielding - this was a captain use to be obeyed with haste and without question.

"Leave?" Once again, Penelo found herself caught off guard by the pirate's unforeseen actions and words. More and more, old memories and feelings were resurfacing from their time spent together years ago.

In her own nostalgia, Penelo recalled Balthier as strong and uncompromising on the battle field. A brilliant tactician who was slow to venture personal information but quick with invaluable advice when it was needed the most.

Unlike most leaders, stubborn with the pride of leading, Balthier was content to let the others take the charge, even those of the party that lacked the worldly knowledge and fighting skills he was graced with.

He was a self proclaimed leading man, but to Penelo, he was one that needed no lime light to shine. In memory, she had built him up as the model of everything a sky pirate _should_ be. Ruthless without being careless. Courageous without being headstrong. Intelligent without being overbearing to his crew.

The memories of him and Fran had greatly influenced the young woman's actions. She often used lessons she had learned from the pair when Vaan managed to get them in over their heads - which was all too often.

What she had chosen to forget and was now becoming clear to her, was what that same inflexible spirit was like when circumstance demanded that he turn it towards his fellow adventures. Once set on a course of action, he wasn't to be dissuaded. He had often locked horns with Ashe, who felt due to birth rights alone, all leadership decisions should be given to her. The charming pirate, time and again, turned aside Ashe's temper, always seeming to play events in his favor.

The past few years of dealing with Vaan –who always deferred to Penelo's judgment in the end, no matter how much he might complain about it - had made her ill prepared to deal with a man so confident and assured of his actions.

No, Penelo's memories were quickly paling in comparison to the real deal.

"Leave to where?" She finally asked with caution.

Balthier sighed, resting one of his hands on his hips as he spoke. "I have a plan and by unforeseen technicalities, it would seem I have to impose on your company. I appear to be less than _visible_ to anyone else." He dismissed her concerned tone with a smile. "Worry not, I'll see to it that no harm comes to you."

Penelo gave the pirate a searching look. "That isn't what worries me. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself." Instinctively, she trusted that if Balthier said he had a plan, then despite her misgivings, it would be best if she followed it. _Besides, _she thought, _I can't really offer any better suggestions right now._

"Alright." Nodding slowly, Penelo reached back to the com screen and dialed the dock master.

"Could you get Captain Vaan for me please, he should be checking in down there?"

..

"Captain Vaan?"

The boastful blonde turned to the man addressing him, hands tucked behind his head.

The handful of girls, passengers on various ships awaiting their departure in the aerodrome terminal, exchanged giggles and exclamations of excitement. Whatever doubts they had about the cocky young man before them vanished as soon as the docking master had addressed him as 'Captain'. One of the more daring girls, a brunette with her lose hair flowing around a very young face, pushed forward from the others, gushing,

'You _are_ a sky pirate!'

'Of course, I am.' Vaan acknowledged smugly. 'One of the greatest sky pirates to ever sail the skies of Ivalice.'

'Communication for you, sir.'

Vaan thumbed his nose, exhaling an overly dramatic sigh in a show of bravado. "Welp, I better go see what my crew needs. Probably more questions about our audience with Queen Ashe.' The excited murmurs started with renewed energy, just as Vaan knew it would. Smiling inside, but doing his best to keep a cool façade on the outside, Vaan moved to the central com desk.

His smile didn't last long.

..

"You've picked a fine time to stop listening to your elders. Stop struggling!" Balthier ordered as he caught her other hand in his – the hand that seconds ago had delivered a numbing slap to his cheek.

_Oh yes, some sense of humor the gods have. Out of all the people to be able to touch me, why, oh why, did it have to be a fighter that –actually- slaps?_

With an unexpected show of strength, Balthier forced her hands to begin putting the ship in reverse, backing it slowly but surely out of the docking bay they had just landed in.

"Balthier, you can't! This is Vaan's ship!" Penelo yelled, struggling to free her hands from his hold.

"I am _aware_. I need to _borrow_ it."

"Borrowing without asking is stealing! You're _stealing_ it!"

"Well, if you want to split hairs, technically _you're_ stealing it." Balthier cocked an eyebrow. In half-hearted amusement, he forced one of her hands to wave to herself before placing it firmly back on the steering wheel. With his hands decisively cupped over hers, he spun the wheel around, turning the ship towards the beckoning sky.

"Balthier! Why can't we take Vaan? It's _his_ ship! He has a right to know what's going on! We can't just leave him here!"

The pirate clicked his tongue. He never imagined to meet this much resistance from Penelo. Three years ago, she would have wisely followed his instructions without protest. He considered her as nearly understanding of his leadership, if not his motivations, as was Fran. Even accounting the fierce motherly protection she seemed to have towards Vaan, he hadn't _actually_ expected for her to put up this much of a fight.

_And to think the week had started so promisingly…_

"Look!" Not willing to fight the young woman any longer and knowing that a willing passenger was worth more than a king's ransom – or at least a willing passenger he wouldn't be able to fly without – Balthier decided to give her as close to an explanation as his pride would let him

"I'm none to happy about the situation myself, but I _need_ you to trust me, Penelo. That ludicrous father of mine in some way is greatly responsible for this madness. I misjudged his insanity once, or rather, I convinced myself his insanity was none my own to bear and I unwisely turned a blind eye to it. We all know how that business ended. However," He continued, "he seems to have gone through great lengths to make this particular brand of lunacy personal. If Fran can't see or hear me, it would be prudent to assume she probably isn't unique in that aspect. The how and why of it escapes me."

He felt the resistance against his grip lessen. Taking a deep breath, he continued:

"Until I know what it is my father is after, I can't afford to drag anyone else in to this. If you'd like to keep Vaan out of this mess and likely harm, you'd best do as I say. Well," He amended with a nonchalant shrug, 'unless the past three years have ironed out more of his rash, immature, impulsive and all round self serving traits?'

Silence.

'No? I hadn't thought so.' By the time he had finished speaking, he was doing little more than holding her hands in a gentle embrace - one he released as soon as he realized that to be the case.

"Trust me. We've been through far too much for you to act the distressed damsel now."

"I want to trust you, I mean, I do trust you, of course I do! But…but…" Like the sweetest of honey laced through bitter Dalmascan mead, her voice held a sudden reflective sadness that the pirate never would have thought possible from her.

"But you have to trust _me_ too. I'm not a kid anymore, you know? If you didn't want Vaan involved, than you could have just explained it to me. I…I understand a lot more than you might think."

For a few tense heartbeats, neither person moved.

To his surprise, Penelo's fingers began a slow dance of well practice movements over the control panel, finishing the preparations for the take off.

In the heavy silence that followed, Balthier found it oddly hard to ignore the hurt that was practically radiating off the young girl. His understanding of her emotions went a step beyond the pirate's impressive observational skills.

_It's almost as if I can feel what she's feeling. What an uncomfortable thought._

"I'll help you." She said finally. The words shattered the silence, demanding his attention for all their soft tones. Something in her voice forced Balthier to cast a sideways glance towards her. Where there had been sadness moments ago, there was now the unyielding beginnings of resolve.

"Though, as soon as we're air born, you have to tell me what's going on. Or as much as you can _guess_ about what's going on." Eyes like the promise of a storm met his, unblinking. "If I don't like what I hear, I'm turning _Vaan's _ship back to port and we're asking for help - even if I have to fight you for every inch of sky."

Balthier nodded his consent with an easy smile, never doubting that if push came to shove, he'd need naught break a sweat against her to see his will carried through. "But of course. I'd not have it any other way." He answered in silky tones.

As if remembering herself now that the adrenaline was subsiding, Penelo looked away from his pleasantly accommodating stare, quickly busying herself as the ship launched out of the docking bay.

In the hush that followed, Balthier looked at Penelo, really looked at her, for the first time seeing past the memories of the girl from three years ago to see the young woman that now sat before him.

She handled the ship with unquestioned confidence, never faltering as it soared ever higher. Calculating eyes watched the dials and occasionally, delicate fingers would make a hairline adjustment to one of the knobs controlling vertical thrust.

Had he been anyone else, Balthier wouldn't have felt the tiny adjustments she made to aid the ships ascent – adjustments that were reducing the drag for a smoothness he couldn't help but admire. This wasn't something that could be taught. The way she handled the ship spoke of hard won experience. And the way she had stood up to him…

Vaan might have been the captain of this ship, but Balthier didn't doubt in the least that the boy would have been lost in more ways than one without his "navigator".

_What have you been up to these past three years, my dear lady?_

..

They flew through what little remained of the fading daylight, chasing the dying sun towards the hidden city of – Balthier's chosen destination.

"_Why not Daklor laboratories? If you're father is behind this, he'd need resources, right? Wouldn't that be the best place to start looking for answers?"_

_The man regarded her with a look of passing interest. "I thought you kept correspondence with Larsa?"_

"_I do." She confirmed. "I write him as often as we make port."_

"_Odd. Perhaps he felt it not worth mentioning." Crossing his arms over his chest, Balthier stared at the distance horizon. "Were Cid to go there now, he'd not have a foot to stand on. Not a scrape remains of his personal research - freak accident involving a fire. Curious thing, the detectors didn't go off until after every last page had been committed to ash. Though, oddly, his personal effects were absent from the blaze." He hadn't meant to add that part, it came slipping from lose lips._

"_You've been busy." She commented thoughtfully, correctly crediting the sky pirate's influence towards the measures taken. "You couldn't comprehend his actions, but you didn't hate him. I know what it's like. No matter how much you might want to, you can't truly forgive actions that you don't understand."_

"_You'd be wrong to think 'my actions' had anything to do with an ill founded nostalgia."_

_Still though -Perhaps she had imagined it, but for a brief moment, she thought she saw him smile, pleased with himself or with her for guessing correctly that he had taken his father's belongings, Penelo couldn't be sure. Like the misty clouds that burn away under the gaze of the sun, his smile was gone the second she noticed it._

Granted, it could have all been a flight of fantasy. It seemed Balthier had two smiles to share with anyone but Fran. One was mocking and the other self-depreciating. Penelo was so tired, she could easily be seeing things. In fact, she wouldn't be surprised if she suddenly woke to find the events of last night were a fatigue induced dream.

Her aching behind told her otherwise.

The original plan, which now seemed a lifetime ago, had been to dock in Rabanastre and sleep at Migel's until the Queen was ready to see them the following morning.

She _should_ have been asleep right now, warm and comfortable in the first real bed she'd slept in for far too long. The hanging cot in the crew quarters couldn't hold much weight against the soft chocobo mattresses and Dalamascan cotton sheets of her bed back home.

The stars that twinkled across the fresh blue-black night sky as the day seeped away would mark the second night she'd gone without sleep. Her limbs ached for sleep and her eyes felt thick with the need to rest.

Balthier had gone up on deck a while ago. Penelo guessed to look for traces of the crystal. In the weak hours of dawn, after leaving port far enough behind as not to worry about pursuit, they had exchanged stories.

Balthier had recalled the run in with his estranged father and Penelo, in as much detail as she could, explained again finding the crystal and all that had happened afterwards.

_It's a good idea to go to Mt Bur-Omisace. I was afraid Balthier would have us trying to track down Cid. _Her tired body shivered at the thought. _Killing him once had been bad enough…_

Her head jerked forward and she awoke with a start, unaware that'd she'd dozed off at the controls. Each time she fought off sleep, the worse its intoxicating pull was. Almost immediately, she felt her eyes closing again.

_Well, Penelo, if you're going to take a quick nap, do it the right way. I know Balthier wants us to make good time but we'll never get there if I crash us in to the ocean._ Sluggishly, her fingers flicked on the auto pilot. It wouldn't truly 'fly' the ship - rather, it would stay it in a low powered hover, keeping a constant check on their elevation.

The young blonde crossed her arms on top of the control panel and gratefully nestled her head against her folds of her elbows.

.

The troubled man watched the horizon, trying to take what little comfort he could in the feel of the cool sea breeze against his skin. However, it was no use.

His body was betraying him.

Every inch felt like as if he had been swaddled in thin leather, each touch against him was distant and muted. Pressure enough to know he had gripped the dock railing, but there was no answering cold in the metal against his palm.

Even the air he breathed, air that should have been alive with the taste of salt and sea, was empty of flavor and feel. Had he not witnessed the rise and fall of his own chest, he would have questioned if he was drawing breath at all.

"Thank goodness," he whispered out loud, "my hearing and vision are untouched. A fine way to ensure a slow decent in to madness, had those been muddled too."

..

"_You seem troubled." He said, resting his hand lightly on the back of the Viera's navigation chair._

"_Troubled? No."_

"_Not upset, surely? We've no need for the Espers any longer."_

_A long silence. _

"_In legend and in tale, always were we taught of the Espers as creatures of Mist and magick. What I felt was no shadow, it was an echo of flesh and blood mirroring my own, as if I was but an anchor, sharing lungs to draw it breath and giving it skin for which to feel – real, if only for the length of the summon. Now again, trapped in cryst with only eternity to embrace it."_

"…"

"_Forgive me. Such melancholy does not suit the start of a new venture. Glad we should be to be free of the Espers."_

"_It's all right. Theirs isn't a fate I'd wish on even the most deserving of it."_

_.. _

Balthier flexed his hand, willing feeling back in to it. For the first time in years, he felt fear. Fear of a situation he couldn't see his way out of.

/

Inside the cabin, Penelo's brow furled in troubled sleep. A sudden shiver caused goose bumps to rise along her flesh.

/

A thousand miles away, buried in darkness and cavernous echoes, something massive shifted under the floor of rock and sand.

Pushing from beneath the surface, in fury and mindless intent, the ground shock with its efforts. _It_ had no words, no reason, and no thoughts. Animal instinct cut down to nothing more than a starvation. _It_ had been cast aside, forgotten. _It_ was hunger. _It_ was eternal emptiness. _It _screamed in a voice that needed no ears to be heard nor tongue to speak.

…_**BALTHIER…**_

Act Five: In which an Captain looks for his missing ship, a young woman gains wisdom from a dream and a Captain remembers true loneliness.


	5. Act Five

Happy Mid-December all!

First, allow me to apologize for the LONG wait between chapters. My Betas went MIA and without their feedback, I was and still am, a bit at a loss.

This chapter is NOT complete. It needs some editing and of course, it leaves off without much of a conclusion. I will be going back later this weekend to rework it and to give it the proper tie over in to the next act.

In light of not having an active Beta – feedback, comments, questions and concerns are all that I have to go off of at the moment. I thank you all for the WONDERFUL comments I have received thus far. It keeps me going. And now, the first half of Act 5.

"He stole my ship." The young man commented flatly for the umpteen time that day. Pale blue gray eyes watched the clouds float lightly past the window, painted pink with the coming dawn. It was hard to keep still in the passenger seat - his hands itched for the controls of the familiar ship, however Fran would not hear of him driving the Strahl.

"A ship he has." She answered him again. The dullness in her voice informed of an argument that had been taking place since the Viera had picked up the brash young sky pirate from the aerodrome at which he had been abandoned. "And willing is the crew that flies her." She continued. "He has no need for your ship nor a crew taken under duress."

"And I'm telling _you_ I know what I _heard_." Vaan shot back in a sour tone.

Fran shook her head, causing her thick stock of white hair to caress the top of her shoulders. "You are very young to believe fallible senses over fact that you know to be true."

"Look!" Vaan said with a sigh of aspiration. "I know, ok? I know! Penelo clearly said Balthier's name! She would never do something like this! She knew we had a meeting with Ashe AND she left me behind!" The young man was suddenly on his feet, gesturing with passion towards the open skies. "You said so yourself, Balthier's been missing since you left Bhujerba!"

Unfazed by the display of emotion, the Viera reached overhead, making an adjustment to the ship's guidance system.

"Two days," She pointed out, "He had been gone for two days when you hailed me. Even sky pirates cannot overcome such a great distance in so little time and an impossible task would it be if the pirate left his _own _ship behind."

"Then why did you agree to help track my ship down? You said that Penelo spoke as if Balthier was with her when she contacted you over the com!"

"I feel something is not right. Your missing ship and the missing sky pirate – there is truth in the connection between them, though you are too eager to draw unfounded conclusions." She indicted the tracking screen with a tilt of her head. "Time will see your ill begot logic to rest. Close we are to the Revenant. We will see her sails before the morrow is out."

Vaan sighed as he slouched back down in his chair next to Fran, defeated. "I don't care what you say, he _did_ steal my ship." He finished under his breath.

The constant hum of the engine filled the uneasy silence.

Or, at least it was uneasy on Vaan's end. He wasn't sure anything got to the Viera.

He when had hailed her, screaming about stolen ships, kidnapped navigators and backstabbing friends, he had expected her to dismiss his claims as outrageous. Part of him _hoped_ Balthier would answer the com himself, calmly offering to help him track down the imposter that had taken Penelo. Instead, he had been greeted with more questions than answers.

Wistfully, he watched the horizon, willing his ship in to view.

_Hold on Penelo, I'm coming for you._

Though he had not slept since the run in with Cid, only now did Balthier notice that he hadn't felt tired, hungry or for that matter, thirsty. The thought of fine Dalmastican wine and a tasteful spread with fine fair didn't excite the least interest. Under other circumstances, Balthier might have celebrated the lack of such physical weaknesses, or at the very least, lamented the lack of such physical cravings as were appropriate for a man of the world, but instead, he felt…nothing.

Nothing at all. There was an emptiness in him that, like a great gapping hole, sucked away any emotion or thought that ventured too close to it.

Balthier _knew_ he should be upset, _knew_ he should, in fact, be raging. But the most he could muster was a determination to find out what his father did and how to correct it. He would have to trust that once he was no longer the walking…whatever he was, his fury would come back along with the rest of his senses and he'd be given to revenge.

Coupled with the discovery that he no longer had physical needs, a very unsettling fact occurred to him which brought him back inside from up on the deck. When he wasn't around Penelo, within sight, sound and easy touch of the youth, his body quickly became more distant and the sky pirate felt a chill that the early morning sun could not erase.

_I suppose I should be grateful it was Penelo and not that foolish Vaan that broke open the old man's_ _damned cryst_. Balthier shivered with disgust at the thought of being bounded to the young man. _I should prefer the endless dark_.

The sky pirate took one last wistful look at the expanse of clouds before heading in to the dimly lit hallway.

"There are better places to sleep."

The clearly not amused voice pulled her from her dreamless sleep. Straightening herself with what little composure she could muster, Penelo fought back a blush. "I'm sorry. It's been a long day." She glanced back to Balthier, who was standing in the entrance way to the cabin, arms crossed. Giving him a half hearted smile, she turned her eyes to the sky, picking out the sun that told her only an hour or so had been lost. "What have you been doing?"

Unprepared for the question, the sky pirate uncrossed his arms and walked to the control panel. "Things that hardly concern a navigator that can't stay awake at the wheel."

He wasn't about to tell her his private thoughts. However, he quickly found that it didn't matter. As soon as the distance closed between them, the connection that bound them to one another opened like a blooming desert rose.

He felt her fatigue like a fine taste on his lips; her embarrassment flushed his skin with warmth the morning sun paled to. For a dizzying second, he couldn't tell which of the thoughts ebbing at the edge of his mind were his own. Doubt, anger, arrogance and a desire to be seen as useful filled him, as if he was an empty glove and her will was the solid hand he was cut to fit.

Startled, the sky pirate took a quick step away from the navigator – giving himself the distance he sorely needed to collect himself. If Penelo noticed his sudden discomfort, she said nothing. Her steady glaze never left the control panel, so set was she on redeeming herself for having fallen asleep, but it was not to last.

As the adrenaline quickly faded from her veins, Penelo's exhaustion, greater than it should have been even given the amount of time she had gone without rest, claimed her.

It was the half drawn yawn that alerted Balthier to the young woman's intentions, seconds before she slipped off the side of her chair.

"Hey now!" He managed, as he made to grab her falling form. Enclosing her in his arms he was stunned to see how real, how warm and solid she felt to a man that previously could not even feel the air in his own lungs.

For a full heart beat, he held her in his arms, safe and secure, before he was overcome by the oddest thing sensation. It wasn't unlike casting a float spell, only he wasn't floating, he was falling, weightlessly against and _into_ Penelo.

It took him half a second to put two and two together.

If Penelo was his anchor to this world, than surely he was draining her energy to stay. It was probably not in his best interest to let her become exhausted.

Before the young man faded completely, he laid Penelo gently on the deck floor. Had he time, he would have crossed his arms in distain at his own actions. All Balthier managed, however, was the single thought:

_It wasn't my wisest move to wake her up, I now see._

Penelo was dreaming, of that she was sure. For one thing, she was standing out on a dock in a port she had never seen, under the hot mid-day sun. For another thing, she was floating with the ease of flight, being drawn towards a scene that played out like something remembered, but from whose memory, she could not be sure. All she knew was that it was not her own.

She spent a few moments watching the clear blue water lap against the posts of the dock before being drawn from her reflections.

A young man, dressed sharply, with extremely short, dark cropped hair and an easy grace moved past her. It was clear, he, like the rest of the passersby, did not see her. Penelo's eyes found his face. The recognition shocked her to the core.

It was Balthier. Younger, yes, but that was not what caused the navigator unease. Dark circles rimmed troubled eyes – eyes the like that Penelo had seen only once. It had been the first and only time she had gone to visit Vaan's brother in the hospital after he was found to near death in the palace.

They were the eyes of someone who was seeking death, having found life bitter and empty. Not Balthier, surely, even in a dream, a man whom always seemed to her to be the embodiment of strength and passion, never could such eyes rest with such comfort in his face.

Forgetting this to be but a dream, she reached towards Balthier as he walked, only to stop upon recognizing towards _whom_ it was he was approaching.

He approached the Viera, confidence in every easy step. "You're new around here."

"What of it?" She asked with a toss of her ashen ponytail.

"Where are you headed?"

Hesitantly, the viera looked back to the drunk that she had laid out like last night's garbage, who was making pitiful noises about his nose being broken. "Away from here." She answered after a thoughtful moment and with a look of disgust.

"What a coincidence, I'm headed there to." Smiling at her, he extended his hand. "I know where we can get a lovely little ship."

"Your help is neither merited, nor asked for."

"Of that I have no doubt." She watched as he gave the prone body of the drunkard a nudge with his foot. "But what of my company? Surely I can hold a candle to your current companion." The smile never faltered but the tone became serious. "Cities can be overwhelming for even the most well traveled of us. It would be wise for the two of us to travel together, at least for now."

"Very well Hume, I will travel with you till we quit from this city. I will depart from you when –" She struggled to find the correct word for the dirtiness she felt. "Horrid place is behind me."

The scene shifted suddenly, the dock and the pair falling away as Penelo drifted far out and over the sea. Landmasses and cities alike drifted past with such speed, the youth couldn't distinguish where she was headed. Images flashed past her, places events. A few lingered in the afterimages of her mind; the first was two princes being executed by a power hungry brother and a very young man, no more than 16 years, tossing away a suit of black worked armor.

And a cave… Her head spun and her vision thickened. A cave, it's opening a ruin of caves in and mist but enough remained of its once wide mouth to show the deep darkness inside. All her nerves lit up at the sight of the cave – Penelo's senses screamed that she should wake up now, before she approached closer but she was powerless to stop her slow pace towards it.

Each step caused the scene to shift, ever so slightly. Rocks tumbled upwards, the mist lightened and the sun began a quick, reversed path through the sky, taking with it days and weeks of time until most of the cave mouth was now clear of rubble and the mist was all but gone.

This did nothing to relive the feeling, nay the certainty that horrible things lurked inside. _Please wake up, come on Penelo!_ She urged herself, fighting to slow her pace.

A hand gripped her shoulder, firm and so real she was sure for a moment she dreamed no longer.

"You know what they say about what happened to the curious cat, I should think you'll not fair better." Came the low and humorless voice.

Spinning, Penelo faced Balthier, looking the same as he had when she had last seen him. "What…what is that place?" She asked, unable to repress a shiver.

"That?" Feigning disinterest, Balthier rolled his eyes. "That is where a former Judge-turned sky pirate became an enemy of the empire and _that_," he said with finality, "is all you need know of it. Now, if you're quite done, you might consider waking up. I, for one, am certain _I _am not currently flying the ship and I must question your skills at doing so while sleeping. If you'd be so good to see your way back to waking _before_ we crash, much obliged."


	6. Act Six

Penelo jerked awake startled to find herself laid out on the smooth deck floor. The faint smell of salt lingered on her skin from the countless shoes that had tracked sea water in to the cabin. Brushing away the peppery white film from her clothing, she looked around. Nothing but emptiness met her eyes and nothing but the dull hum of the ship as it hovered in auto pilot greeted her ears. She sat in solitude, listening for sounds of the ship's other passenger.

_Where did Balthier go?_ Penelo thought, eyes furled in growing confusion.Lifting herself off the ground, she made a quick check of the controls, calming her fear that the ship had veered off course during her slumber. To her relief, the ship had stayed true and they were but a brief hour from Mt Bur-Omisage and the wise council they so desperately needed.

"Balthier?" Penelo called, heading up to the deck. The bright sun washed the rest of the sleep from her and for the first time in days, the youth was surprised at how energized she felt, as if a weigh had been lifted from her slender shoulders.

"You know," She said aloud, tilting her head thoughtfully to the side, "I wonder if it has anything to do with being around Balthier? He can be so demanding sometimes. It can be so draining." Yawning, but unable to help a soft smile, the girl grinned out to the expanse of sea before her. "I don't know why but I feel so happy all of the sudden...and I'm talking to myself!" She laughed. "I guess without Vaan around constantly chattering at me, it feels lonely with all this silence! I really should find Balthier though." With a light hearted sigh, the girl quickly made her way around the small ship. There weren't many places to check and given what she knew about the sky pirate, she didn't think him to the type to play hide and seek. It seemed that he was really and truly gone off the ship and yet...

And yet she knew that he wasn't. Deep inside her mind, in the space that tittered on the edge of the mist and the waking world, that part that connected her to something greater than herself, was the pressure of a second mind, a second being entire.

But before she could focus on this odd and disturbing awareness, a small chime sounded from the far radar. Confused, Penelo watched as a small blink quickly move closer towards the 'X' that indicated her ship.

"Oh no." She muttered, quickly sitting herself in to the pilot's chair. "They sure did find us quick enough." With fast, well trained movements, Penelo took the ship off auto pilot and started up the main engines. They were going to have to move and move fast.

~.~

"There they are!" Vaan shouted, pointing at the ship that lay just ahead of them. Fran tossed the youth an unfriendly expression. "Eyes I have." She said, flicking the engines in to gear. "We'll have to move quickly. If we have spotted them than-" before she could finish her sentence, the ship in front of them bucked wildly, diving in to the thick clouds.

~.~

"Balthier, I could use some help here!" She muttered, biting her lip. The Strahl was pulling up beside her much smaller ship in what she recognized as a basic pit maneuver. The larger, faster ship didn't need an advance tactic to forcer her down.

Penelo knew she'd never pulled out in time to avoid the oncoming ship. They would nudge her hard to the right and then continue riding her until she lost the necessary speed to hold altitude and from there they could either board or force a landing.

"Balthier!" It was a long shot, but having nothing to lose, Penelo closed her eyes. _If Balthier was here, he could take the controls! He'd be able to out run his own ship, no problem!_ If she was right about what had happened to the sky pirate than this would work. Summoning him would bring him back. If she was wrong, well - half of her sorely hoped nothing would happen because that meant he wasn't an Esper, just the victim of his father's plotting as he kept insisting. 

~.~

A single drop of rain fell against the black surface of what looked to be a never ending lake, stretching out forever against the ebony sky. The rain drop sent ripples out across the surface but instead of losing momentum, it gained. Each tiny wave grew bigger and with more force until massive waves stirred.

Balthier was floating, trapped in the world of mist, far beneath the turmoil of the surface. Ever since his connection with Penelo's physical world had been dismissed, he had been unable to swim his way up, to emerge from the water. Instead, he had waited in the unnatural silence, wondering why he could breathe, wondering if he was finally in truth, dead.

Suddenly, violently, Balthier was jerked from his thoughts. Invisible strings seemed to attach to his limbs, for they started to move on their own violation, pulling him, causing him to shoot quickly to the surface.

Around him, rain began to fall, thick heavy drops that felt like small rocks against his bare arms. A great wind rose up from the mist, guiding his hands – no – rather _guided_ by his hands! He was calling a storm, acting as a channel between the world of the mist and his own.

_No!_ He cried, though no words would form on his lips. How many times had he summoned an Esper, battling side-by-side with it, watching as it called forth strong magic's from the mist itself. Never once did he stop to consider what it would feel like to be used as such, ordered to cast and be forced to obey blindly before being cast back in to the void like a well used tool.

The man desperately tried to make his arms stop the blurring motions they signaled out in front of him spelling out runes of power. But Balthier could do nothing, his body was not his own, his actions not of his doing. Some one had called for the power inside him and he bowed to it like a well trained dog.

On the surface of the lake, untouched by the waves crashing around it, standing as if on solid ground was a suit of armor. It was a judge's suit, clearly meant to intimidate enemies of the empire with thick plating and a head piece that gave no hint of the Hume that wore it. Balthier caught sight of the armor as it slowly started to walk across the lake towards him. His body still frantically casting, he couldn't react to the sight as he wished. The sky pirate wanted nothing more than to draw his gun and fill the hated thing with as much lead as he carried though he knew it would not stop it's steady pace.

Balthier knew the suit of armor was empty, that only magic or some hellish force was giving it life now. He knew that because that was _his_ judge suit, cast away years ago, destroyed with everything else from his past.

On the gentle whisper of the wind, Balthier heard, ever so faintly, …_I am The Empty…_

~.~

Outside of the ship, black clouds gathered over the Strahl with unnatural speed. Penelo had just enough time to feel the drain of a summoning before the sky cracked open, spitting lighting and thunder. Directly above the Strahl, a thick funnel cloud began to spin, catching up the ship and spinning it, slowly at first and then faster, pulling it tight in to the center of the storm before slamming it down through the clouds.

Just as quickly as the storm appeared, it vanished and the Strahl was no where to be seen.

"Well that was a stroke of luck." Came a calm and strangely detached voice. Penelo heart nearly stopped as she spun around to face the sky pirate who seemed to appear out of nowhere next to her.

He looked pale, betrayed and... and looked what Penelo could only think of ice. As if he was causing the temperature of the cabin to drop. There was no hint of the familiar humor in Balthier's face.

"Luck?! How can you say that?! Vaan and Fran were on board! They could be hurt! We have to go back and help them!"

The sky pirate rolled his eyes, "That was the Strahl, little navigator, not some half-crafted piece of trash. I doubt that little display has done more than buy us a handful of minutes to get out of their navigation range. I suggest you use it to our advantage."

Taken aback by his cool demeanor, Penelo was about to give him a piece of her mind when she noticed a shaky Strahl begin to rise from the clouds far behind them. It had not gained back the altitude it needed yet but Balthier was right, it wouldn't take them long to be back on them if she did nothing.

Penelo took the controls and quickly drove higher in to the clouds, speeding up to put as much distance between them and their followers as she could. Shaken and in shock, Penelo's mind was in utter disarray. _Balthier appeared out of nowhere! And that storm, it was exactly like a summons… that can't mean…but it must…_ Swallowing and trying to force her mind on to a topic the young woman could understand, she turned her emotions towards anger. "You could show some concern! Don't you care about her?"

"I'll pretend you're asking about someone other than Fran, for the sake of my continued belief that you're an apt and able thinker." Came the even, cold reply.

"I'm serious! Don't you care at all?"

"That question has little weight when asked by the woman that is using all her skill to put as much distance between herself and her beloved captain."

"Look! What I feel for Vaan is none of your business! Just because I'm not "in love" with him doesn't mean I don't care! It doesn't mean that I want to cause him pain! You have no right to mock me." She shot back.

"I'm not "in love" with Fran, which is good for me because Fran prefers the company of women. Coincidently, I _also_ prefer the company of women. It's made some very interesting nights for us."

With a slow dawning comprehension, Penelo flushed a deep red. "You-you shouldn't talk about those sorts of things around a lady!" She stammered.

"Of course not." He said, but it managed to lack sincerity. "Forgive my course language. I meant only to illustrate that Fran is neither a love struck follower, driven by her desires, nor is she incapable of caring for herself and the Strahl. Vaan is in the best care possible."

A sudden hardness filled Balthier's face. He stared at Penelo with a look that was unreadable. "Now. Hurry and land. I need answers. If my father truly has risen from the dead to curse me, the new Grand Kiltias will know. They are the only race more in tune with the mist and it's working than the Viera and far more accessible."

Penelo wasn't willing to agree what she already knew to be true. False hope that the Kiltias would say anything other than what had just been confirmed to her… and from the pale look on Balthier's face, to him as well, seemed worth the short walk. If anything else, it would buy her time to think and maybe Balthier some time to come to terms with the truth.

~.~

"We change course."

"What, why?! They have to be heading to Mt Bur-Omisage, it's the only thing out here for miles!"

"We change course." Fran said again firmly. "It would be a fool's errand to follow them further. I know where this chase will end. We shall move there."

"What do you mean?"

The Viera shook her head, wrapping her arms tightly around herself as if to ward off a chill. "That storm screamed of mist. What we must pursue now is the center of the storm – it is there that we might be able to help."

"I...I don't understand!"

"When first I met Balthier, he was not the man you know now. Back then he was...unsure and troubled. He'd oft give in to fits of depression where he would go for days without speaking. I did not think anything of this, knowing so little as I did about Humes.

The company of a Viera is an odd one for a Hume to keep, our emotions are not yours. Often I thought of this at first, for he preferred my company to all others. Balthier seemed comforted by my differences, my calm and my lack of the emotional display as a Hume would show it.

Only much later when I was more familiar with your ways did I begin to understand that Balthier needed my differences as a mirror in which to define his own. Never did I think to ask from what he was running and only once in passing, when too much good wine had passed between us, did he mention that he had ran at all. It is to the thing he runs from that we must now run to."

Vaan gave a thoughtful pause, hands tucked securely behind his head as he stared at the Viera. After a time, he answered, "I don't see what any of this has to do with my ship and Penelo."

"_In vain glory they arose," _The viera recited as she continued to change course. "But in the end, it was not the punishment of the gods that cast the Espers in to damnation. Their destruction was found from within, for who of us does not carry the seeds of our own demise? Balthier will be drawn towards what haunts him because there is nothing else he can do, in the end."

"So what you're saying is you know where they're headed and we're going to cut them off?"

"Yes. There is not much time left. He has already tapped in to the mist in order to use it as a summons."

Vaan looked out at the now calm sky. "That storm was Balthier's doing?"

The Viera nodded. "He might not know it himself but he has taken the final step and now must face judgment."

"How do you know so much about the Esper legends? I mean, up until I met you, I didn't know what an 'Esper' was."

"Your race is short lived and forgetful. What you consider 'legends' are our history and not all of us have forgotten the horrors the Espers wrought before they were brought under control." Her voice grew distant and Vaan knew that she wouldn't be willing to give anymore information.

Under his breath, he muttered, "How old _are_ you?"

The ship took a soft turn and began traveling towards a cave, several miles away in distance and a lifetime away, hidden and forgotten, in the life of a certain captain

"_A judge is a weapon of the Empire. They must be able to carry out its justice without hesitation or feeling. A tool does not question, a tool does not stop to ponder their feelings about what it was made to carry out. This is what's best for you. This is how you will serve your country and you will do it with pride. I will have it no other way Ffamran. I won't allow you to do anything that might put my research at risk."_

~.~


	7. Act Seven

The city Mt Bur-Omisage had changed greatly since last Penelo had seen it. No longer was it the smoking ruins of devastation left in the wake of the vengeful Judge.

However, it wasn't the thriving city of infused with refugees she remembered before it had been destroyed, either. That had been a place of safety; a home to scholars, writers, artists and holy men that wished to find peace from the outside world while following higher pursuits. This city seemed…empty. Repaired but with held breath, waiting, as if any moment new life would once again walk it's now barren streets.

Penelo didn't know much about the new Grand Kiltias other than he had been a relation of the former one and that he did not find his answers in dreams as the last did. Rather he referred to a connection to the mist not unlike the connection Viera felt towards their forest. The other rumors were vague enough to be discounted, but if Balthier thought the Grand Kiltias could help, she was sure he must have heard something to credit that feeling.

In the main district, a few shops catered to the curious tourists that still made their way to this holy place. Being back here was like viewing the present through a double lens. So easy it was to recall their last stop here on their grand adventure to stop their world from dying. Lost in nostalgic reflection, she could almost ignore the cold connection that was growing stronger between herself and Balthier.

Casting a sideways glance over at the sky pirate, Penelo found she could read his emotions as well as she had ever been able to read Vaan's moods, if not better. The thought was a little unsettling. _I sure hope it's a one way connection. He's not likely to be happy if he knows I can understand what he's feeling._

There was a sudden surge of aloof pride from the sky pirate that grew stronger as they moved nearer to the streets and more importantly, closer to the pedestrians. The combination of loneliness and empathy that had pervaded his thoughts since the summoning back on the ship was covered over by it. The well practiced art of covering his emotions was similar to a street performer pulling on a mask.

Moving through the crowd proved annoying and difficult for Balthier. It didn't take long to figure out that other pedestrians couldn't see the man and each step was a dance to avoid collisions. After one particularly nasty street delayed them considerably, Penelo sighed, trying not to smile. "Why not just let them walk through you? I'm the only one that can touch you, after all."

Dodging to avoid being run over by a large man carrying a stack of books, Balthier shot her a dark look. "Walk _through_ me?" He repeated incredulously. Penelo instantly regretted her words. "A man would like to think of himself as more than a mere shadow – not that I should think you'd be able to understand such a thing."

They approached the audience chamber in silence for the rest of the way. Balthier's progress remained slow but thankfully, none of the streets close to the central temple were very busy at the late noon hour.

one of the guards moved forward to stop Balthier from progressing. His heavy hand pressed _against _Balthier's chest, stopping the man forcefully in mid-step. The other guard moved forward to answer their astonished looks, "The _unborn_ goes no further. The lord will see you and _you_ alone." He motioned to Penelo.

Penelo gasped. "But how did you, how can you -?" She stammered, looking at the very real hand on Balthier's very solid looking chest.

"Go now or go not at all." Was the guard's gruff answer. It left no room for argument. Giving Balthier a look she hoped seemed more confident than she felt, Penelo quickly dodged between the two guards. "I'll be right back! Don't worry!"

Giving another testing push against the guards unyielding hand, Balthier backed away, a half hearted smile playing over his features. "I'll wait here than, shall I?"

The guards didn't answer. He hadn't expected them to but for a moment, only a moment, he had halfway hoped they would speak to him again, push him away, demand he leave, something. Things were going poorly indeed if the sky pirate was wishing attention from the city guard.

Alone again, Penelo off on his wild goose chase, trying to track down a strand of hope that he couldn't quite make himself believe in anymore. His father had been many things in life and maybe that had increased ten fold in death but what had happened on the Strahl, that spoke of a power greater than his father's insanity and that was saying something.

The man straightened his perfect cuffs and moved away from the temple entrance. The sun was about to kiss the highest point in the sky, not that he would know it. He felt nothing, not the warmth of the sun nor the smooth street beneath his feet. A numbness he was growing use to and that worried him more than the lack of sensation. It all too much reminded him of another time, a life time ago, when he had taught himself to block out feeling. It had been of the emotional kind, granted but hadn't Balthier found a comfort in that cold mindlessness as well?

As if summoned from his dark thoughts and his even darker thoughts, a figure suddenly appeared down the street from him. If the it had always been there waiting or if by a trick of the mist, he had conjured up the very image of everything that had gone so wrong in his past, he didn't know.

It was a mirage, he knew. The crowd moved as insubstantial through the suit of polished steel and cruelty as they would move through himself, if he had allowed it.

"Humph." Crossing his arms causally, the sky pirate cocked his head, regarding the Judge's suit callously. It didn't approach. It stood still, taking in his gaze with utter indifference as if it had been there forever and Balthier was simply another face in the passing crowd.

"Isn't that something?" He asked ironically. There was absolutely no mistaking the familiar curve of the helmet, nor could Balthier deny the familiar chill that ran over his skin with recognition. He knew all too well what every bent of that metal would feel like, nestled against his body. Judge's suits were cooled constantly by freeze spells, far too cold to be comfortable, just lacking the intensity to numb the wearer. He knew it was that spell that allowed Judges to fight alert and ready in the sluggish of desert heats. Winter, however…

The man shook his head, having no wish to revisit that particular horror. Taking a step towards the apparition, it stirred nerves in him as if he had stepped towards an electric elemental, not a mere memory. There was… a strange ache in him. It felt like…_oh hell._ That one step had brought him more than just closer to the suit.

A soft mountain breeze ran through his hair – and he felt it! _Felt_ it move over him, soothing and calm. He could _feel_ his chest rise in fall, _feel _the sunlight that was peaking around the mountain side. Maybe not with the same clarity that he had known before, but after going so long numb to the world, it felt divine. The suit responded, whether to the sudden pleasure from Balthier or his distraction, it took another lumbering step forward. The feelings in Balthier intensified. Before him, he could see the motes of dust floating on the fractured beams of light as they broke over the mountain tops. The soft breeze was ingrained in his pores, rushing through him. Every breath taken reached from the top of his lungs to the soles of his feet, regenerating him. For the first time in far too long, his heart came to life in his chest with throbbing beats.

_.:Come:._ The voiceless order filled a dark place in his thoughts, the suit taking another step forward. It rang empty, a twisted echo of his own voice. Any feeling of pleasure Balthier had been enjoying dried up as quickly as the dead pan look flashed on his face. His stormy eyes were dangerous.

"So, _it_ speaks." His voice was malice, cutting the air. "Handy trick from a memory, that."

_.:As much of a memory as you are becoming but perhaps with more truth:._

Though by passers couldn't witness the exchange between the man and the suit standing in the middle of the street, the few pedestrians that moved past the stand off looked as if on some level they could pick up on the unnatural exchange. The ones more sensitive to the mist would stop, as if confused before rushing on to their destination. Balthier, noticing this, was thankful that Viera did not frequent this city oft anymore, for he had no doubt they would be able to see what was happening as clearly as he did.

The suit made no move to further close the distance between them. .:_Come or is this barren existence what you would have for us?:._

"Us?" He asked with an arched eyebrow. "There is no _us_. I see an illusion created by a desperate man, hoping to either make me regret, repent or rush to repeat a best forgotten past in favor over this… shadow of an existence I'm currently experiencing. Tell the old man he'll have to do better than pulling a skeleton out of my considerable collection to make me play in to his hands." Balthier turned to move away.

_.:Join with me, make us whole again, or you'll die in truth:._

Balthier stopped, considering the judge's suit from over his shoulder. For the first time ever, the sky pirate let on that he understood, truly that he was playing against more than his father and that perhaps, he had never been against him at all.

Softly and with more thought than usually lined his cold tones. "If I join with you, I'm already dead. I shan't be a trinket to summon by some half witted adventurer. Nor shall I wait for Penelo to decide I need handing over to our dear Queen at early convenience. I should rather die in truth than be trapped in a cryst, plaything to the mist until I forget I ever was a man at all."

_.:You know you don't have enough time left to die in truth, not in your current company. That's why you have her chasing shadows. You're afraid that if Penelo no longer doubts your nature, shakes off the lingering doubt that you are indeed a fledging summon, she'll hand you over to the court magi. Valid fear indeed, she's naïve but it won't stop her feelings of self righteousness for long. A day, maybe two, and she'll go running back to Vaan and her morals. Let us join now. At our full power, she won't be more than an annoyance standing in the way of our freedom:._

"I'll never join with the likes of you. I'll fade. Be forgotten-."

_.:You already tried to forget yourself once, "Balthier":._ Inside the cold, empty armor, deathly pale mist was swirling from the hollow eye sockets, threatening to drag him under should he venture to look too deeply for too long._ .:Look at far you got on that coin. Shamed past, patricide, companions that know you only for the farce you so readily serve them. Embrace the emptiness you sowed inside yourself, it is the only legacy you have left:._

The voice mocked him, pulling out the painful truths of his life and parading them through his mind as if it delighted in stripping away all of his self delusions. _Ah but can it be a delusion,_ Balthier thought, _if I never believed my own lies?_

"Be gone. I choose the weight of my sins, not you, not my father and certainly not the gods. Death is a far superior companion to enforced guilt."

_.:Funny, you think you ever had a choice. Maybe you do have enough power left in that fading form, but I doubt it. Come to me, where you so conveniently divided yourself, Ffamran. Come soon while you still can, or I will come to you and scoop up with little remains. I know how much you miss my cold embrace, the power that came with it even your pride won't let you admit it to yourself, I know you_ enjoyed_ it what you were forced to do in that cave_.

Mist swirled up around the suit, breaking apart the image until it was completely gone. Nothing but the shimmering of heat off the mid-day streets remained.

"I'm not you." Balthier whispered to himself. "Not now, not ever again."

And he almost believed it.


	8. Act 8

Act 8

The chamber was much as she remembered, though lacking the large throne that had made up the room's center piece. It seemed simple and more inviting without it. Without thinking on it, Penelo slowed her pace and walked with a kind of light reverence, the type of walking one oft adapts in a church or other holy place.

To Penelo's surprise, the new Grand Kiltias looked to be a mirror image of his predecessor, Anastasis, so much so that for a moment she thought that maybe her announcement of the old Grand Kiltias's death had been premature. If guessing her thoughts, the Grand Kiltias turned towards her, ignoring the large tome he had been looking over.

_~Helgas must all look the same to Humes~ _Came the soft, well spoken telepathic voice of the GrandKilitas. ~_There are so few of us to begin with, it is a forgivable mistake.~_

"I'm-I'm sorry." Penelo said, quickly dropping her gaze. "It's been such a long time I had forgotten your kind could read minds. I meant no offense."

_~I am no stranger to the ways of Humes and their…quarks. Though it may not be easy for some of the races to read your strange emotions, I find them refreshing and pure for all their intensity. Having said that, no offense taken, Penelo the sky navigator.~_

Blushing intensely, the youth forced herself to meet his stotic gaze. "I…we, need your help."

The Grand Kiltias looked at her for a long moment that drew out the silence like the taught string on a bow.

_~I cannot help you. I am sorry.~_

Biting her lip, Penelo tried to cover her disappointment. "I haven't told you why I'm here. I guess since you can see inside my head... I don't know why Balthier thought you would be able to help, but he did and he's usually right. Isn't there something, anything you can do..?"

~_Espers.~ _

Penelo's head shot up at the word. The Grand Kiltias had returned to the large tome in front of him and with a long withered finger marking his place, read from the faded lines.

~_Espers_~ He started again. _~They carry the divine in them though they themselves are not divine. Each Esper started their existence as a lesser race, the Humes, chosen by the gods for an assigned task to be carried out in their stead. Consumed by Mists, the chosen was granted powers far surpassing the most gifted magic users._

_But alas, such is the corruptive nature of the Hume's that many could not withstand the mists influence, for while it granted great strength, it drew out the weaknesses inherent in humanity. The chosen became despoiled and perverted, their forms twisting and mutating so that the outside would better match the inner._

_The gods with great fury at their scorned gifts, bounded the Espers to the realm of the mist, able only to take form to serve those that are able to conquer them in battle and whom have the strength to carry their weaknesses as their own.~_

"Their weaknesses as their own? What do you mean?"

Ageless eyes weighted down on her, filled to the brim with timeless knowledge. _~You who carried Shemhazai the Whisperer, did you never feel her presence within you, urging out your anger? Even you, who are pure of heart, cannot escape such malice, be it even such a small thing as becoming quicker to lose your tempter than apt you were before you played host to her. You and your friends were very lucky. Those with the physical strength to conquer the Espers, but lacking the heart to carry them, soon find themselves destroyed from the inside~_

"I…I don't understand." Penelo said finally. Her grey-blue eyes could no longer meet his steady gaze, a sense of confusion unfamiliar to the usually bright young woman caused her to sigh. "I can see, a little bit, what this has to do with us, but what I don't understand is Balthier _isn't_ an Esper! He doesn't even _have_ a physical form that anyone but I can see! Why-"

"_This is truth you speak, as far as you know it_." He interrupted, motioning the girl to hold her peace. "_What remains to be seen is Balthier himself_.~ The elder paused, dragging in a deep and even breath. ~_If the mist proves to be too strong than he will become consumed and be an Esper in truth, both in mind and body. Forever sealed with in a cryst, to serve for all time humanities history~_

"So then… there's nothing I can do to help him?" For the first time, the slightest thread of anger was evident in her rising voice. "All we can do is sit around and wait doing nothing? Balthier is in danger, waiting just isn't good enough!"

~_Such ire does not become one of your intelligence~_ He chastised, stepping away from the massive tome to rest in the large throne at the middle of the room. _~Think rather, what do the gods see in you that they have chosen you to be his caretaker in this most critical of times? You have far more power than you are crediting yourself with._

_Will it be your light that causes his own to shine brightly, or will it be that your light causes his darkness to be ever more apparent?~_

Before Penelo had a chance to recover from this revelation, at a silent signal, a guard stepped forward and gently moved her towards the door. Too shocked to fight it, she willingly allowed herself to be lead away.

On his throne, the Grand Kiltas watched her leave and gave the slightest shake of his head.

_I cannot help. It is far too late._


	9. Interlude Part 1

Interlude

How a Judge became a pirate

Seven Years ago, In route to Nabradia -

_Best of the best._

The young man ran his armored hand over the metal interior of the ship. This particular air ship was above par, the newest in a long bloody line of aerial combat vessels. Massive, indestructible and all but unstoppable. Safely tucked away in it's metal bowels, Judges like himself didn't see combat hand to hand. No, they were far too important, far too _Empire_ to sully themselves with the common stock soldiers riding on the transport ships below.

Ahead in the control room, he could hear the dim sound of conversation. The clear deep voice of Judge Zecht was issuing orders that belayed a calmness that had no place on an invasion ship. He had an ace up his armored sleeve, of that Fframn was sure. For one thing, Fframn had observed a small, single, extremely fast transport ship in the hanger bay. It was Nabradian in design and of the nondescript type that merchants used to travel from the coast to the main city once their goods had been unloaded.

Secondly, Judge Zecht himself, his presence with the armada, though explainable, these were war times and Judges were the Empire's emblem of strength and power, still struck Fframn as odd. He could count the number of times the Judge had been sent away from the main house of Solidor and only ever under the direct orders of Emperor Gramis himself. Any questions the man might have put towards his fellow Judge to the effect of clarifying exactly what the Judge had been sent to do was meant with guarded hostility. At the end, he knew only that the Emperor was acting on some grand plan of Cid's that promised to resolve the war.

And so, like so many times in the past, Judge Fframn quelled his distrust, his arguments and withdrawing so deep in to a well of apathy, he wasn't even sure if his disinterest was an act any longer.

_Business as usual_. Withdrawing his hand, the younger Judge shook his head in disgust._ And what a business this war is turning in to... and what business is it of mine? None of this sits well with me more so because I shouldn't care to begin with._

But the truth was he _did_ care. The affair bothered him more than any other indignity he endured as a Judge because this invasion on Nabradia absolutely _stank_ of his father. In the shadow of Cid's madness, death followed with eager steps.

The hums of the engines vibrated through the soles of his boots. Out the command window, the clouds scrolled past.

_Ever stretching is the Empire's eager reach. And my father's. No good can come of this. _

Sighing deeply, he walked away from the command room, letting the voices fade away behind him. Uneasiness burrowed between his shoulders and stole from his lungs comforting breath. On the horizon, the capital loomed, windows catching the sun over a city full of life and commerce.

_Please. Just this once. Let me be wrong._

_~.~_

On the **Tragedy of Nabudis** from _Sage Knowledge piece 03_:

"_Two years past, Nabradia, fearing the military might of the Archadian Empire, made treaty with Rozarria to place troops from that land near her borders. Fearing an invasion of the Valendian continent by its sworn enemy, Rozarria, Archadia immediately exerted political pressure on the small kingdom. Yet Nabradia did not accede to their demands, and Emperor Gramis of Archadia was compelled to use force. Several days after the Archadian invasion, a terrible explosion reduced the once proud city of Nabudis to naught but rubble. Though the city fell in the space of a night, the Mist that now swirls where it once stood has transformed the land into a barren waste for eternity. Even now, the cause of this cataclysm is not fully understood._"


	10. Act 9

Author's Note: I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update. I had writer's block like you wouldn't believe. Thank you all so much for your kind reviews, for adding me to your favorites and for keeping up with this story. It will wrap up in an Act or two, so please, leave feed back. Nothing gets me moving like reviews. Thank you all and enjoy. Please note, this is completely rough and in dire need of editing. I posted it thinking that a little something would be better than a big 'nothing' I'll come back and edit it as soon as I'm able. Thanks everyone for understanding! Comments are so so so welcome as my betas are long gone...

Interlude Becomes a Dream

Act 8

"I remember the day Nabradia fell. Of course I do."

The voice was soft but clear. In the darkness, devoid of sight and of touch, the voice commanded her full attention and she gladly gave it. That voice. It was everything to her. It was the embodiment of her youth and her hope. When times had seem dire, when it had felt like her life had been forfeit and all was lost, it had been that voice that had given it all back to her.

Taking a cue, the background moved from the velvet black to a ridged landscape. In the distance, a city burned casting the sky in to a sickly orange, the clouds set on fire.

In bits and pieces, knowledge came back to her the way it often does in dreams, and this was, a dream...wasn't it? The girl looked down at her hands, her body. The last thing she remembered was talking to the Grand Kiltas. She had left him feeling so lost, so alone and tired. She had to fight. It was so important and all consuming, the fighting was everything. Had to save the Sky pirate. From what, she wasn't sure anymore but had to... and then it was back to her life of saving Vaan from his own sense of reckless adventure. But the thought of what she had to do and what was to come was such a weight on her.

Time, it was all a matter of time and she was losing it. Every step back to the Strahl was costing her seconds she couldn't spare but...

"I was tired." Penelo said in to the wind that carried ash away from the wreckage all around her. "I came back to the ship and -"

"And you slept." The man finished for her. She didn't turn around to see the speaker, only nodded. "This is a dream then, of that day, the day Nabrada fell. And it's important, isn't it?"

"I remember it." Balther continued. "Naught that memory serves purpose but I can't forget it. Mid week day. Hot. Very hot. Long days, the sun so slow in setting. Plenty of daylight, plenty of time to see to the destruction of a nation. It fell in a single day."

The young woman could feel the heat of the fires that burned in the distance. Fires that would burn long in to the night and beyond. Surely they would last forever in her memory. "Not you." She answered under her breath. "You didn't do this. You were forced."

"Oh to be sure, I didn't do any of the fighting. Heavens no, I was _far_ too important for such grunt work. My sword was never bloodied ere the field of battle. But..." The pirate drew a deep breath in to his lungs, so deeply that Penelo felt her own chest expand with the effort. "I am guilty of this. Of all the deaths therein and of all the lives that could have- would have been born aft." A tan hand gestured to the smoldered city, drawing her attention to the man behind her as she turned to face him.

Balthier looked perfect. When didn't he? But even better than she remembered. He looked solid and healthy, the same man she had traveled with those years ago not the ghost that had been her company the few days prior.

"You can't blame yourself." She offered quietly.

"The memory of inaction in the face of evil weights heavier than the deed of evil itself." His deep gray eyes peered out over the horizon and gradually the sand melted in to metal. The sky enclosed to steel and the pair found themselves in the haul of a great war ship, flying directly over where they had a heartbeat ago been standing. Out the window, the city was whole and perfect again. Night lights shone like stars on the streets and the buzz of activity in the thriving metropolis could be heard over even the roar of the engines.

Across the way, tucked against the wall, away from the other command center sat a lone Judge, quite and reserved. Penelo didn't have to ask who it was. She knew. Balthier regarded his younger self with a look of disgust.

"Don't get me wrong." He started again, breaking the silence as he walked over to stand by bay window. "I'm not a fool with delusions of grandeur. I don't think I could have stopped what happened. Best I could have hoped for was causing them a minor inconvenience as I got myself killed for trying something radical and ultimately pointless. War is a machine, wheels within wheels and all that rot. The death of one naive Judge wouldn't even be considered a hiccup."

"You're too hard on yourself." Penelo said, her voice rising. "You keep blaming yourself for things that were out of control! Look!" She motioned to the Judge he had been. "You're tiny in that armor. You couldn't have been more than a child! And to have to witness what the Empire is capable of -"

"Younger than you, yes. But not a child. No never something so pure."

Penelo approached him. As she gently rested her slender hand on his shoulder, she whispered. "I want to help you."

He was about to answer her when the ship faded away and without ceremony, a cave took it's place. They stood at it's towering entrance, a giant maw that swallowed light to the dark depths of the earth. Balthier swallowed hard.

Dream knowledge is a powerful and undeniable thing and in that moment, Balthier knew that his worse parts were about to be drug to the surface. There was no arguing, no debating, no begging. This was it. The curtain, the final act. It just _was._ "I'd prefer you not see this next part." As he moved to reach for her, determined to wake her no matter what the cost, doubt spread like wild fire in his veins.

Stopping dead in his tracks, the sky pirate looked at the girl – no, there was no denying it – the _woman_ in front of him. Penelo. She had always believed in him, always had faith that what he did he did for the greater good of the group. Had always trusted that he'd protect them, even if he had to bend the rules to do so. In that moment, Balthier knew that if he took her from here, he'd always be the hero to her. And because of that, she would break herself apart trying to save him.

In a heart beat he weighted the beauty of her hope, her unfailing belief in him and in that instant, made his discussion.

"I'm as a man drowned." The sky pirate said slowly, as he took a step back. His form faded with the distance, each move away from her drawing him out of her dreams and away from any hope he had of keeping her from this truth. "I'm coming up only long enough to show you with lies under this stillness. I've had enough of your pit and your help. The gods can't do anything to me that I haven't already done to myself.

"Watch." He said simply, silencing her the protest in her eyes. All the emotion that had been waring in him a heartbeat before was swallowed by calm indifference.

Balthier watched as it registered that she was being left alone in this nightmare to face his inner demons. That in the telling moment, the man she had always counted on was leaving.

And as he vanished, he forced his face to remain calm. As if it hadn't hurt to see her look at him that way. As if he didn't still have a heart to break.

~.~

The sharp pain in her chest was so real, Penelo thought that it would probably wake her up. And when it did, she was going to beat Balthier. Long. Hard. With several objects of choice. When there was time, she was going to make sure that some of this pain she was feeling was returned to sender. "You jerk!" She yelled at the sky. A phrase that would have been followed up by more choice words had her attention not been distracted by movement inside the cave. The dream played on.

The last of the survivors – a rag tag band of refugees, clung to the edges of the cave. Fearing to venture too deeply in to the devouring stomach of the Earth, but equally fearful that pursuit would follow, the band wore the expressions of those already resigned to death. The Judges had come to silence the truth of the Empire's actions on the last tongues left to speak it.

A tall Judge came in to view, looking at the terrified group.

"Depose of them." He ordered.

**CRACK**.

The shot rang out in the deafening silence; the Judge's helmet lurched back on his face, slammed by the force of the bullet that was reflected by the thick steel. It took the bewildered Judge a moment to realize _he_ had been the target of the shooter.

He spun around in cold fury, eyes searching the many dark caverns littered around the cave. "How dare you!"

"Ranged weapon not such a foolish choice now, is it?" Came the angered reply. A male's voice echoed off the cave walls, giving nothing of his position away. "A cowards weapon' I believe is what you called it. In case you missed that last shot – these are not the actions of a coward."

The older Judge fumed, his voice a poorly contained scream of rage. "JUDGE Fframn, get down here at once! You defy the Empire with your actions and you will pay the price!" He snarled. The crowded mass of refugees wept anew, fearing the Judge's angry tantrum as much as the faceless shooter.

"That's hardly what I'd call an "incentive". No, I'm quite comfortable where I am, thank you. I have an _unbelievably_ clear shot of at least three places that would prove fatal." The voice held enough of the cold anger to be scalding and enough dripping sarcasm to drown in. "Leave them and go."

The Judge's voice echoed soullessly across the cave. "You'll be hunted for this Fframn. And so with this single action, you cast yourself out. Nary your father will welcome a traitor. This trash," an armored hand gestured to the assembled group, "are the enemies of the Empire you are sworn to protect."

The reply was simple and undeniable. "I have no father nor country to call home. I owe little to an Empire that could commit such acts."

The Judge considered his words with a short nod and a humorless laugh. "You're a fool. A damned fool. Better rid of you now, exposed as you are for worthless." Turning, he addressed the guards behind him. With a flick of his wrist, he motioned forward more guards.

"I am serious!" Fframn shouted, the click of his gun reloading adding weight to his threat.

The Judge laughed again, a cruel sound. "You are no killer. A coward full of words and empty threats. A child playing at games. Were you capable of killing me, your first shot would not have been a warning. A lesson, boy. You can't save anyone."

As the guards rushed in to the cave, surrounding the group, the Judge didn't move. He stood, offering himself to Fframn, daring him to make good on his threat. "Dispose of them." He ordered again, annoyed.

Shots filled the air.

Not a single one of them from the gun that slipped to the ground as Fframn watched, unable to act, he felt himself dying as surely as those that stood below him.

The dream moved away from the cave, spanning out over the sands. A pair were standing near a city, this one far removed from the destruction visited on it's neighbors to the north.

"Are you sure you wish to in debt yourself to a wanted man?" The speaker had a bald head, his white sideburns standing out starkly on his dark skin. "I have little doubt that both our heads carry a hefty price."

"I rather think they believe you to be deceased." Answered the younger man, a haunted look in his eyes. "I never thought I'd wish myself thought of as the same. I suppose I shall make do as an outlaw…hmm, never much cared for that word. I'll have to call myself by another title." He chuckled and for the first time in his life, mimicked an aristocrat, brushing imaginary dirt from his armor with a sense of distain. "I can't start my new life as something so unsavory."

The events of three weeks ago still too fresh in his mind, the act dropped away quickly, reveling the panicked shock that still echoed in his gray eyes. "Where will you go?" He asked in all seriousness.

"Myself? I will seek the path of redemption for my sins, though I fear it is a path I will not survive the seeking. And what of you, Ffraham?"

The young man winced at the name, but quickly covered with nonchalant shrug.

"I fear nothing so lofty. There's nothing redeeming about myself and I'd like to keep it that way." All too clearly the young man recalled the horrible coldness he had felt in the cave as he watched, helpless. It was a suffocating pressure in his chest. How he managed to surface from it once was nothing short of the most powerful kind of blessing... or curse. The idea of facing that coldness in himself again made him physically ill.

He wouldn't seek healing for crimes he knew there could be no atonement for. Instead, he would simply cease to be. He would be someone new. In a way, he'd been running from himself his entire life. Now would be the perfect time to lose himself completely.

"Travel, I suppose is entirely acceptable for men in our position. I'd like to seek a ship, perhaps. See what fates deem for me now that I've no ties to clutter my destiny."

"If that is your desire, I'll not argue the point." The older man cast a piercing look to the city before them. "I doubt you've mind to, but you shouldn't return to Arcades, ever. The Empire is naught forgiving. However, if travel is your wish, I know of a place where you can get a ship. I have men in Balfonheim." He nodded towards the port city. "If you don't mind dealing with pirates.

The youth looked at the man with a mixture of distrust and…hope? "Why help me?"

For a long time, the older man considered in silence. A thousand petty reasons crossed his mind and he almost answered because they were now kindred spirits – no one else would understand what they had faced, least of all within themselves but this was not entirely true. The truth was because when he looked at the youth before him, he saw a ghost. Fframn the Judge hadn't made it out of the cave alive. And Reddas had a lifetime worth of death.

At last, he answered, "Consider it a step down my long path. It will afford me a small comfort to know you are out there, flying free."

Deciding not to press the point, least it be revoked, Bathier nodded. "You have my thanks. Let's get to it then. I have a life to forge and what a life it shall be..."

~.~

Penelo woke in stages. Eyes closed, the first thing she was aware of was the heavy ache in her chest. Next, it was the stiff soreness of her muscles. Not surprising, when she opened her eyes to find she had passed out on her bedroom floor. Lastly, she glanced out the window and recognized the fetid skies that hung over the necrohol and knew that they were headed towards the cave from her dream.

Moving off the ground, she stubbornly refused to acknowledge the tears that cut heart broken paths down her face.


	11. Act 10

Author's Note: Thank you so much for all the reviews, for believing in me and this story. You made it possible. You. This is the ending and I must say, it feels amazing posting it. Two hours after I post this chapter (and have given a brief pause for applause, I shall post the curtain call).

Act 10

In which the darkness cometh

The airship touched down like oil over water, skimming the ruined waste of land before coming to a rest under a storm torn sky. The silence here was heavy and forbidding. Promises of pain and death carried on wind that smelled of decay. The weak sunlight was avoiding this area, like a startled chocobo it seemed all it would take was a loud noise and the light would run from this land, never to return.

The bay door opened with a 'click' followed by the hiss of pressurized air escaping and two figures stepped out in to the gloom.

"Yeah, I_ really_ wanted to come back here." The young captain Vaan muttered, tucking his hands behind his head. "I mean, look at this place. It's even creepier than last time. If that's even possible."

His Viera companion nodded, her eyes scanning the craggy and broken landscape. "Time will not undo what has been done here. This land is a scar that has festered with mist. Even the dead cannot rest on its tainted soil."

"We're here because…?"

Shaking her head, Fran motioned towards the distance. At first, Vaan didn't know what he was meant to see. The entire place was a rubble, twisted metal and debris. Any of the giant wastes of the city could have been what she was pointing out. "And I'm looking at what?"

"There, in the distance."

"That?" He asked, incredulous. "That mountain, way over there?"

Nodding, as if it was perfectly obvious, Fran said. "The cave on the southern side of its face. That is where Penelo and Balthier will come."

Glancing from Fran to the cave and back again, Vaan moaned. "That's like a quarter mile away! We'll have to cross right through this place to get there!"

"I dare not land closer to it. It poses too great a danger."

"A cave? _That_ cave?" He asked, deadpan. "What am I missing here?" It was a cave, unremarkable in its appearance. There was no thick mist looming around it, no undead lumbering outside it. In fact, there was some sunlight hitting it and if anything, that would be the exact place he would have hidden to get away from everything around it.

"The physical cave is not the danger;" Fran clarified as if sensing his uncertainty, "it is what took place inside that threatens us and our companions. To others, it would probably be the safe haven you must think it to be. But not to us, memories have been awaken there and been given form."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Vaan conceded with a meritless laugh. "I wish Penelo was here, she's a lot better at seeing danger where I can't. But I believe you. If you say that place is dangerous, than it is and if you say that's where Penelo and Balthier are, I believe that too. So let's go get them."

Fran looked over to the young man, a rare and bemused smile on her face. "These years apart have seen you grow."

"Ha, not really." Vaan answered, hopping off the docking stairs and towards the mountain side. The truth was he missed his navigator and it wasn't just her uncanny perception that left a dull ache in his chest. She was his best friend and his time away from her had only increased his understanding of how much he had come to depend on her companionship. It wasn't like they hadn't been apart before. Penelo often made trips for Ashe or would spend months visiting her once boyfriend Larsa. Vann himself had spent several weeks away when he had fallen (briefly) for the merchant's daughter in Bervenia but the constant in both their lives was each other. No matter what happened, who they were with or where they ended up, they always came back together to share stories and seek out adventure.

The truth was, he missed her.

~.~

Another pair, a few hours behind the others, walked through the fog like it had weight to it past the insubstantial mist. The young woman leading looked careworn and exhausted. The man behind her looked almost as transparent as the fog he was walking through, a thickening of shadows and movement, little more. The rich clothing he prided himself on a thin memory covering a ghost. And did he ever feel it. Every inch of his non-existence.

A step closer to Penelo and Balthier might feel the slightest of pressures, the wavering of his chest that marked his inhales, the brush of his shoes against the earth. A step closer than that and he could cast a shadow. Maybe smell the dark stink of rot and sweet decay in the air. If he was to fall a step further behind her, he could literally feel himself start slipping in to the black void, stumbling like he was on the edge of a cliff. In the darkness, the place where the mist and Penelo's mind junction together, he could float like a memory, waiting to be called upon. A house that no one visited, a broken toy discarded. Or worse, a tool waiting to be used. So Balthier settled for an in between. He didn't want to be close to her but he wasn't foolish enough to court his destruction so carelessly. Though after the memories he had shared with her, the embarrassment and shame he felt made it a mighty tempting thought. _What a lovely impasse I find myself at. Clinging to this existence by the whim of a woman and if that wasn't enough of an identity crisis… _

It wasn't like Penelo and the others didn't already know, he told himself. It had been ages ago when the sky pirate's true identity had been uncovered to them. The key difference was that had been on his terms. He was the one that got to dole out little scoops of his history, tastes of the man he had been but nothing more than a flavor to try and to forget. If anything, it had added to that romantic air all sky pirates loved – he was no exception. A noble fallen from grace, taking up a life of crime and adventure, off to save the world – what was his small history but another twist in a vast plot?

Things were different now. Someone had switched out the scripts. He was supposed to ride off in to the burning Dalamstican sunset, plunder in one hand, his arm around a fine woman. Those that were dead were meant to stay in the mists, not hand out curses. All this was _supposed _to be behind him now.

_A fat of good wishful thinking will do. And oh the embarrassment, damn good thing myself preservation outweighs my shame or I'd free fall in to the void with gusto. _Over and over again, Balthier looked over to the cave that was fast approaching. Over and over again he told himself he was going to win against this thing, had to really. Cause losing wasn't an option. He couldn't even try to foresee his future otherwise. Couldn't make his mind go there even in theory. Because being trapped in a cryst for all eternity… no, either way… he was going to win his freedom. The ground under his feet was a slow even incline, free of debris and wreckage. But he still felt like he was dangerously off balance and about to have a head on collision with a cliff.

Penelo didn't bother to look to see if the sky captain was still following her. She could feel him in her mind, that bond between them as strong as ever even if he was a shadow of the man he had been. Inside, she felt how he looked. Shaken. Off keel. A lie. The woman felt like a vital piece of her had shattered away in to the wind. What exactly had broke inside her she couldn't pin point but whatever it was sure hurt. Had it been her trust in Balthier that had gone?

_No._

Those vile acts of a lifetime ago hadn't been a betrayal of her. What he had been forced to commit and witness had taken place years before they had even met. So why then, did Penelo feel like she had when she had gone home for the first time after her parents died? The house had looked the same, a place for everything, everything in its place kind of perfect. A lie promising that any second her parents would walk in and life would pick up where it had suddenly and unfairly left off.

Glancing at the man behind her, even in his ghostly form, he still had the same perfect hair, the long fingered hands, steel gray eyes, designer clothing… but that was the lie, wasn't it? To her he was this untouchable ideal, the man capable of calling down any enemy with his devil-may-care attitude and cold eyes unshakeable as he challenged the gods. But that wasn't who he was. He was… empty… like-

"Like a suit of armor." Balthier's voice offered humorlessly from behind her. "A valiant knight that came riding in to snatch you from the jaws of defeat - ah but once the visor was pulled back, it was naught but mirrors and a trick of the light." Out of nowhere, he laughed softly. "The gods aren't very creative when it comes to the creation of their Espers, are they?"

Penelo did a mental wince and quickly threw back up the shields to block him from catching her thoughts and emotions. Before they slammed in to place like the jaws of a trap, she sensed the mild panic radiating off him. That didn't shock her but the shame mixed with it did. Drawing up on reserves of resolve she had thought long exhausted, Penelo forced her feet on, ever moving, ever travelling towards the cave that couldn't be more than a couple hundred paces ahead.

"Look, you're upset." She called over her shoulder. "I get it, I would be too." Leaving out the little fact that she _was_ upset, Penelo continued. "We need a plan right now. Anything and everything else can wait."

"How do you plan on fighting it?" He returned, his voice calm, almost detached. "Shouldn't be overly hard, I would imagine – half formed thing that it is."

"I'm more concerned about it not destroying you when we destroy it."

"It will be worth it." He answered back without pause. "I would rather die than become that empty drone. Better that I should meet death with grace than face a mindless eternity trapped inside it."

"That's not going to happen. We won't let it. It's possible that once we destroy it, all the energy it's taken from you will be returned."

Balthier nodded his consent. "Perhaps." Out of habit, he placed a hand on her shoulder to halt her. He didn't expect her shoulder to feel so solid, the heat of her clothing warmed by the weak sunlight. It was akin to touching a hot pan over a fire compared to the numbness he had began to accept as his 'normal'. _That's extremely distracting, _he noted as he pulled his hand back with a little reluctance. He had forgotten how strong he felt when he was close to her.

"Movement, up there on the ridge," Balthier pointed out. A heartbeat later, he added - "I believe you might not be alone in this fight."

~.~

It had been a few weeks since Penelo had seen Vann. It felt longer and all at once, seeing his face again, it felt like maybe this had all been a dream and she had only been gone a moment.

"Penelo!" He shouted, the second he noticed their slow ascent to the cave's mouth. She had hardly cleared the edge before he was on her, pulling her up in to a tight hug.

"Are you ok?" Holding her arm's length away, he looked at her with concern.

"Yeah." Penelo answered, drawing back and feeling a little awkward. Guilt at having left him quickly replaced her elation. "The ship's ok too. Actually, probably better than ever, Balthier offered a help fix a few things while we were flying."

Vann made a noise of disgust and draw away from her, his anger taking the form of a quick pace. "Where is he?" He demanded.

"Be easy, Vann." Coming from near the cave mouth, Fran walked over to Penelo, a smile on her face. "It is good to see you again Penelo."

Unnoticed, having even been forgotten by Penelo for the moment, Balthier uncrossed his arms and walked towards the cave entrance, ignoring the fact that no one greeted him. Ignoring that it caused his chest to tighten even though he knew the reason was no one could see him or even knew he was there.

"Penelo," He called, interrupting the conversation going on behind him, "It's in here. We have to go now. It's growing stronger by the second."

"Yes of course!" Penelo answered quickly, moving to the sky pirate's side. "Balthier says we have to go now."

"He's here?" Vann answered, looking around expectantly. "I'm going to give him a piece of my mind."

"Tell him he shouldn't be so quick to offer what he so obviously can't spare." Balthier retorted.

Rolling her eyes, she didn't relay the message. "He's up here by the cave. We don't really have time to explain right now but there's an Esper inside that's draining away Balthier's life force. We have to stop it before it kills him."

Fran nodded, taking her bow up in slender hands, almost eagerly. "Let us go."

~.~

It wasn't that the cave was vast. Having travelled through miles of underground terrain for weeks on end, his standards for 'vast' was considerably high. And it wasn't as if Balthier could feel the cold or breathe the stale air that he knew his companions were surely experiencing. However, he honestly could not remember a place that felt _this_ full of dread and foreboding.

And honestly, he thought they would have to go much deeper and wait much longer for what happened next.

In a flash, moving disturbingly fast, the armor, a good eight feet high and nearly as wide, lumbered from the depths of the cave.

"Incoming!" Vann yelled, drawing out his firearm. Fran notched her bow, letting one arrow after another loose, their feathered ends vanishing in to the cave like tiny birds being swallowed in the darkness. Most hit their mark, breaking and bouncing off to litter the ground in tiny heaps. It did nothing to slow the armor's approach. Likewise, Vann's gun was quickly emptied, the shots ringing loud and long, causing a few startled bats to flee out the cave entrance.

"Fall back!" Balthier ordered, moving to the front of the group without thinking. It wasn't until one of Fran's lower aiming arrows passed right through him did he remember he wasn't really going to be much help.

"Balthier says to fall back!" Penelo yelled through the gunshots, her dagger gripped loosely in her hand. "We have to get it out in the light so we can see where we're aiming."

A few paces back and the armor was nearly on them, racing towards the cave entrance with hunger. It moved with grace. It wasn't the empty vessel anymore – it had purpose now. Each step towards Balthier caused the man to fade, tendrils of light streaming off him towards his attacker. The sky pirate was being absorbed.

Penelo drew her hands up before her, calling down the mist and the fire inside her. A reflective shield flashed around her, throwing shadows against the cave walls. Not losing a breath, fingers spun out a rapid barrage of spells, a symphony of fire and ice, spinning and growing. It slammed against the armor, forcing it back, slowing it.

"Balthier, stay by me!" She dropped her hands and raced to where the sky pirate had collapsed to his knees. Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around his fading body, willing strength in to him, wishing him solid.

That was when it happened. The wind began to pick up.

Balthier realized it first, Fran's protest following right behind his own. "Penelo, no! You have to stop! The armor and I are one! You cannot offer me strength without it giving it access to the mist inside you! You're calling a Quickening!"

Screaming, the wind whipped around the cave, growing more intense every second until the air was being sucked from their lungs. On the ground, laminated with brilliant lights, the runes of summoning flared with blinding intensity, forming a protective circle around Penelo.

_Yes…_ Came a familiar voice, filling her head. _Summon me. Call me forward and I shall devour that lie of a man you hold. _

"No!" Cried Penelo, struggling to hold on to Balthier. Behind her, Vann and Fran had been forced back from the cave by the strong gusts of wind. She hoped they had managed to keep themselves from being blown off the cliff face.

Closing her eyes, Penelo tried to block the Quickening, tried to cut off that part of her that was feeding the armor and giving it strength. In her mind's eye, she could see the tendril of energy, flowing out of her and in to it from the Mist. Under it, a second tendril was connected to the man she clung to so tightly in her arms. With rising horror, she realized that the energy was one and the same. If she cut it off completely, they would both die. Even though Penelo remember Balthier's request, that he would rather die than be encased in the armor, she pushed such thoughts away.

A hand, surprisingly soft and warm brushed against her cheek. The touch cleared her head more than anything else Balthier could have done. Opening her eyes, her gaze locked to his.

"Trust me." Was all he said.

"I do." She answered, the truth of it absolute. It didn't matter that almost everything she knew about him had been started by a man under a false identity. It didn't matter that she called him by a name that wasn't his or had followed a man she hardly knew to the ends of the earth. The truth of him was in his actions. It was in the way he lead his friends against impossible odds, against his own past. It was in the way he had rushed to his father as he lie dying, whispering softly, 'was there no other way?'

"Do you remember what my gun looks like?" He asked, lips pressed close to her ears. "Think hard on it. The way I held it, the way it must have felt, cold and heavy in my hands. Remember what it sounded like and how, oh so very good, I was with it."

Smiling, he rose up to his feet, letting her go and walked towards the edge of the circle. Outside of its protection, the maelstrom was raging, the armor at its center, lashing against the summoning circle, screaming it's fury at the man within.

"You're a fool to mistake change for emptiness." Balthier stated calmly, looking at the Esper with eyes so fierce, it rivaled the storm before him.

"I _chose_ to become better than I was. I _chose_ the path I walked and I regret _nothing_. Do you hear me? Not you, not my father, not running away to start a new. Do you understand me? My past doesn't make me what I am now. My truth is right here, right now. The last shreds of self doubt were destroyed the second you went up against my friends. Enjoy knowing you were your own undoing."

He rose his hand up and as he did, conjured from Penelo's memory, his shotgun formed from the mist, streaming with light and power. When he had first considered that he might lose to this, he had seen only his own life ending. That had proved to be short sighted and selfish. If he didn't find the strength to fight for his right to exist, it would hurt others - hurt _her_ more than he could stand for.

Balthier's gun thundered a deafening crack of lightening in to the cave. His shot, aimed true, found the weakness in the armor, the slightest fold between the neck and the chest line.

And then the world seemed to stop.

The wind died away so quickly, there was a full three heartbeats of absolute silence. The armor didn't scream as much as it exploded in to streams of light and energy that slammed in to Balthier like a prayer. Life, blessed, wonderful life filled his limbs to bursting. He took a deep breath, breathing in the light, regaining all that had been lost to him.

With a last shuddering sigh, the sky pirate fell to his knees laughing.

Seconds later, he felt arms encircle him, laughter joining his own. "We did it!" Penelo said with a whisper, holding him tightly.

~.~

Looking slightly worse for wear, Vann came limping in to the cave, finding the two still embracing. With a lift of his eyebrow, he ran a hand through his hair and turned uncomfortably back out of the cave.

"I wouldn't go in there just now." He offered to Fran, plopping himself down on a rock. "That was almost as bad as that time I walked in on her and Larsa- ugh, nevermind." He stopped himself quickly, rubbing his shoulder where he had banged against a rock on the way out.

Fran simply nodded. "I am sure it has been a trying experience for them both. I cannot imagine what they must have faced. Giving them time to recollect themselves is a good idea. Tell the sky pirate I shall meet him at the ship."

Without waiting for an answer, Fran walked off.

"It's over now, right?" Vann asked a few minutes later as Penelo and Balthier came out of the cave, walking a little closer than they usually did.

"I believe it is." Balthier said, tilting his head back as if enjoying the breeze against it. "I am eager to be gone from here, all the same. I trust my ship is nearby?"

"Yeah, Fran said she'll meet you there. Now where's _my_ ship." He asked with a faint glare. "And it better not be damaged."

"Come, I'll show you. It's none too far and I could use a walk." Balthier added. "The feel of the ground has never felt so welcoming to me. Ah but how I long for the sky." Taking a few steps forward, he stopped suddenly, wrapping his arm around Penelo in a quick hug before heading down the cliff face.

Smiling, Penelo, and shortly after her, Vann followed.

End.

Please come back in two hours for the curtain call, in which the finale is given.


	12. Act 11  Curtain Call

Act 11 - Curtain Call

In which it ends.

I stood on at the edge of the cave, watching those embracing below. My son, my dearest son, stood amongst his friends, shaken but recovering. I could see the color returning to his cheeks in a flush of health. In a few days, I didn't doubt he'd feel better.

I lifted the necklace I held entwined around my fingers. The silver chain caught the light of the rising day, catching my eyes and distracting me until I heard her soft voice from behind.

"You promised a return to his humanity – A false hope and a damnable lie."

"Well." I started, sucking on the inside of my cheek and then sighing. "To split hairs, I believe what I said was along the lines of 'staying human' – which he did, in a way. Arrogant as that face of his is, I know all concerned prefer it to the Judge's armor. He got to stay himself, which is a lot more than I can say for all the others doomed to the same fate.

Look, I'm sure some day, down the line, as the world ages and he remains unchanged, he'll figure it out. You're strong. He's strong. You'll both move on and survive. I prefer to think of it as, creative problem solving – but it's not my problem to solve." I sighed again and lowered the hand that held the necklace. "The world will need his strength, it always does. Who knows, maybe someday, thousands of years from now when the balance shifts again, the new group of adventures he's saddle with will find a way to free him in truth."

The viera stepped towards me, her face unreadable. "Do not pretend this is a matter far from your care. You eyes betray your heart."

"Put caring in one hand and chocobo droppings in the other – tell me which one you end up with more of. I do care. I've always cared; about him especially. But here we are, anyway."

"You can do nothing for him then? He is to be this way at the beck and call-"

"Yeah," I cut her off, his possible future too heavy for me right now. I didn't have much time left. Without looking at it again, I tossed the necklace to her, the beautiful dark blue cryst trailing past it's silver chain like a falling star. Her long pale fingers caught it gently, Fran's deep ruby eyes troubled as she closed her hand around the cryst that held Balthier's summoning.

"Give it to the Queen, perhaps, to keep safe."

Those red eyes shot up to mine, angry. "Or not. Give it to someone that you can tell the truth to, someone that won't be driven to…to use him or…" I swallowed hard.

"Can I tell you something?" I asked before I could stop myself.

The Viera inclined her beautiful head and I knew she'd listen, no matter how angry she was. She was probably going to be the only living creature I would ever be able to confess to and wasn't that the damnedest thing?

"I hate it." The passion in my voice surprised me. I had thought I had left strong emotions behind a hundred lives ago. Guess not.

"You know what the worst part of this all is? It's the forgetting. That when I'm moved from the Life Stream in to a new body, a 'new' Cid – I forget everything I was before and live my life as if it was the one and only. I fight, I love, I live as this new person, pure as the driven snow and at the end, right when the curtain call comes, it never fails, I think the dying isn't so bad because at least I get to see my loved ones again. That my death meant something." Uncharacteristic tears rimmed my eyes. "But it doesn't and it never ends. If I ever have another son, this could all happen again and I can't make myself remember. I can't stop it from happening…and I hate it." I added softly. I didn't feel better, didn't expect to.

"Any comfort I could offer would feel empty after such admittance. I cannot pretend to understand, my long years are naught a blink to yours. I will see Balthier is cared for, but as well you know, he will be… displeased… when he learns the truth to all of this."

Nodding I turned away from her. I had said my peace. There wasn't anything I could offer her or this world anymore, I supposed. It was time to go.

"Don't tell him about me." I called over my already fading shoulder. "If we cross paths again, let him think it is a man that bears his father's name. It is better that our story end here. He will have enough to carry without holding on to my burden as well."

I don't know if she nodded or agreed. There was no time to guess. No time for anything saved the warm rush that carried my form, ebbed away at my memories. The tide had come.


End file.
